Hospitality Management Ph.D. Info

Education

Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
M.S., Beijing International Studies University
B.S., Beijing International Studies University

Background

Fang Meng is a professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and a research associate in the Richardson Family SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development at the University of South Carolina. She received her Ph.D. in hospitality and tourism management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and her M.S. and B.S. from Beijing International Studies University. Prior to joining the University of South Carolina, Meng worked as a faculty member at The Ohio University and the Beijing International Studies University.

Meng’s research interests include tourism marketing and management, destination branding, consumer behavior / experience in tourism and hospitality (e.g., online review behavior, social media and the sharing economy in tourism and hospitality), and international tourism. Her extended research areas also cover destination development with the involvement of community stakeholders, quality of life and health and wellness tourism. Meng has authored more than 160 scientific publications, including over 70 refereed articles in highly-ranked tourism and hospitality journals such as Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

To date, Meng has been awarded more than $900,000 in external and internal research funding as Primary Investigator (PI) or Co-PI. Many of the projects were funded by reputable industry partners including the U.S. Department of Commerce, American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation, South Carolina Economic Development Administration, South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, and South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

Meng is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Tourism Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Tourism & Hospitality Journal, and she serves on the editorial board of eight academic journals including Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, and Journal of Vacation Marketing. She is a guest editor of Anatolia special issue and an ad hoc reviewer for multiple academic journals. Meng is an Expert Committee member in the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and a fellow in the International Association for China Tourism Studies (IACTS). She also gives presentations / speeches in numerous international and professional conferences as a keynote speaker, panelist, or moderator.

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In the Media

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2022

• What money-saving tips do you have for people planning to travel for the Thanksgiving Holiday?: WalletHub
• Chandler gets so-so ranking as Thanksgiving destination: SanTan Sun News
• What money-saving tips do you have for people planning to travel on Memorial Day?: WalletHub

2021

• Best cities for Christmas celebrations: WalletHub

Research

• Destination marketing and management
• Consumer behavior/experience in tourism and hospitality
• Social media and sharing economy in tourism and hospitality
• International tourism

Honors / Awards

• Selected to Serve on WTCF Expert Committee
• Best Paper Award Nominee, Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality & Tourism, 2020
• Patricia G. Moody Researcher of the Year, 2019
• Best Paper Award Nominee (Top 3 finalist), the 47th Annual Conference of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA), 2016
• Best Paper Award, the 43rd Annual Conference of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA), 2012
• Best Paper Award, the 2007 Annual Conference of International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE), 2007

Teaching

• HRTM 450 – Hospitality and Tourism Marketing
• HRSM 788 – Business Analytics in Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management
• HRTM 850 – Scientific Foundations of Hospitality Management
• HRTM 798 – Directed Study in Hospitality and Tourism Management
• HRTM 899 – Dissertation

Selected Research Publications

Li, N., Meng, F., & Martin, D. (2023). The influence of travel photo editing on tourists’ experiences. Tourism Management, 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104762

Zhang, X., Pan, G., Meng, F., & Tang, J. (2023). What tourists seek in peer-to-peer tour experiences? A topic modeling approach of online reviews. Journal of Vacation Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667231191502

Liu, B., Meng, F., Luo, C., & Jiang, H. (2022). User interactions in online travel communities: A social network perspective. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480221141616

Li, H., Meng, F., & Zhang, X. (2022). Are you happy for me? How sharing positive tourism experiences through social media affects posttrip evaluations. Journal of Travel Research, 61(3), 477-492. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287521995253

Liu, B., Luo, C., Meng, F., & Jiang, H. (2021). Modeling venture capital networks in hospitality and tourism entrepreneurial equity financing: An exponential random graph models approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102936

Zou, Y., Meng, F., Bi, J., Zhang, Q. (2021). Evaluating sustainability of destination cultural festival tourism: From the perspective of ecological niche. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 48, 191-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2021.06.009

Zhang, P., Meng, F., So, K. K. F. (2021). Cocreation experience in peer-to-peer accommodations: Conceptualization and scale development. Journal of Travel Research, 60(6), 1333-1351. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520938873

Zou, Y.-G., Meng, F., Li, N., & Pu, E. (2021). Ethnic minority cultural festival experience: Visitor–environment fit, cultural contact, and behavioral intention. Tourism Economics, 27(6), 1237-1255. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816620966404

Hudson, S., Meng, F., So, K. K. F., Smith, S., Li, J., & Qi, R. (2021). The effect of lodging tax increases on US destinations. Tourism Economics, 27(1), 205-219. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816619890752

Zhang, P., Gerdes Jr., J. H., & Meng, F. (2020). The impact of national culture on hotel guest evaluation — A big data approach. International Journal of Tourism Research, 22(5), 582-592. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2357

Li, H., Meng, F., & Pan, B. (2020). How does review disconfirmation influence customer online review behavior? A mixed-method investigation. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(11), 3685-3703. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2020-0234

Li, H., Meng, F., Jeong, M., & Zhang, Z. (2020). To follow others or be yourself? Social influence in online restaurant reviews, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(3), 1067-1087. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2019-0263

Meng, F., Zhang, P., Li, H., & So, K. K. F. (2019). Modeling precursors of impulsive tourist shopping behavior: Evidence from long-haul Chinese outbound tourists. International Journal of Tourism Research, 21(3), 344-358. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2266

Zhang, Z., Li, H., Meng, F., Li, Y. (2019). The effect of management response similarity on online hotel booking. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(7), 2739-2758. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-09-2018-0740

Li, H., Zhang, Z., Meng, F., & Zhang, Z. (2019). “When you write review” matters: The interactive effect of prior online reviews and review temporal distance on consumers’ restaurant evaluation. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(3), 1273-1291. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2018-0058

Li, H., Wang, C. R., Meng, F., & Zhang, Z. (2019). Making restaurant reviews useful and / or enjoyable? The impacts of temporal, explanatory, and sensory cues. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 83, 257-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.11.002

Hudson, S., So, K. K. F., Li, J., Meng, F., & Cardenas, D. (2019). Persuading tourists to stay — forever! A destination marketing perspective. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 12, 105-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2019.02.007

Atadil, H., Sirakaya-Turk, E., Meng, F., Decrop, A. (2018). Exploring travelers’ decision-making styles. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(7), 618-636. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-11-2016-0613

Wen, J., Meng, F., Ying, T., Qi, H., & Lockyer, T. (2018). Drug tourism motivation of Chinese outbound tourists: Scale development and validation. Tourism Management, 64, 233-244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.08.001

Li, H., Zhang, Z., Meng, F., & Janakiraman, R. (2017). Is peer evaluation of consumer online reviews socially embedded? — An examination combining reviewer’s social network and social identity. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 67, 143-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.08.003

So, K. K. F., King, C., Hudson, S., & Meng, F. (2017). The missing link in building customer brand identification: The role of brand attractiveness. Tourism Management, 59, 640-651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.013

Wei, X., Meng, F., & Zhang, P. (2017). Chinese citizens’ outbound destination choice: Objective and subjective factors. International Journal of Tourism Research, 19(1), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2082

Meng, F., Zou, T., Li, H., Ren, Y., & Zhang, P. (2016). International tourism hub: Function assessment and application. Tourism Economics, 22(6), 1225-1244. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816616670504

Li, H., Meng, F., & Zhang, Z. (2016). Non-participation of domestic tourism: Analyzing the influence of discouraging factors. International Journal of Tourism Research, 18(6), 567-578. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2074

Jahandideh, B., Colmohammadi, A., Meng, F., O’Gorman, K. D., Taheri, B. (2014). Cross-cultural comparison of Chinese and Arab consumer complaint behavior in the hotel context. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 41, 67-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.04.011

Pan, B., Woodside, A., & Meng, F. (2014). How contextual cues impact response rates and conversion rates of online surveys. Journal of Travel Research, 53(1), 58-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287513484195

Selected Grants and Projects

• Developing a tourism & hospitality employment plan for South Carolina ($88,284), Co-PI, 2019-2020
• The effect of lodging tax increases on U.S. destinations ($56,177), Co-PI, 2018-2019
• Increasing African American tourism in South Carolina ($60,840), Co-PI, 2016-2017
• Attracting retirees and pre-retirees to rural South Carolina ($72,690), Co-PI, 2015-2016
• The Columbia hospitality tax – An evaluation of effectiveness ($38,200), Co-PI, 2015

Professional Affiliations

• Expert Committee member, World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF)
• Fellow and Board Member, International Association for China Tourism Studies (IACTS)
• Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA)