Chair Professor & Head, School of Hotel & Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A former hotel manager and tourism industry consultant, Prof Kaye Chon (Ph.D., CHE) is Chair Professor and Head of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University .

Prof. Chon was previously Professor and Director of Research and Director of Tourism Industry Institute at the University of Houston ’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management in the United States .

In 2000, he was appointed to Chair Professor and Head of the School at Hong Kong Polytechnic University ’s School of Hotel & Tourism Management ( HTM School ).

Under Professor Chon’s leadership, the HTM School has arisen as one of the world’s top schools of hotel and tourism management, being ranked among the “World’s Top 4” in the world based on research.

Prof. Chon received his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Hotel and Tourism Management from Georgia State University , University of Nevada – Las Vegas , and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , respectively.

A frequent speaker at international conferences, Professor Chon has published over 200 papers on tourism and hospitality management in international journals and professional publications and has authored or edited seven books. One of his textbooks Welcome to Hospitality: an Introduction has been adopted as a textbook in more than 100 hospitality and tourism schools worldwide. He is currently the Chief Editor of the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, and Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, and is the Editor-in-Chief of The Haworth Hospitality Press of New York.

Professor Chon is worldwide recognized for his research, scholarship and academic leadership in the areas of Hospitality Management, Quality Services, and Hospitality Industry Marketing. He has presented lectures, seminars and speeches in more than 50 countries around the world.

In his university teaching that spans over 20 years, Professor Chon twice received Teaching Excellence Award and four times received Research Excellence Award, including the John Wiley & Sons Award from International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (CHRIE), Martin Opperemann Memorial Award from the International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators (ISTTE) and Michael D. Olsen Award from the University of Delaware, all for his lifetime contribution to scholarship and research in tourism/hospitality. In 2003, he received the prestigious FTA Hospitality Humanitarian Leadership Award from Fred Tibbitts and Associates of New York for his leadership and community services in global hospitality industry development. In 2003, he was also recognized by his alma mater Georgia State University as the “Most Outstanding Alumni in 30 Years History” at Georgia State University ’s Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration.

Professor Chon is the past Chairman of the International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators and Vice Chairman of World Tourism Organization Education Council, and he is currently the Chairman of Pacific Asia Travel Association Education Committee.

 He has been listed in Who’s Who In The World.