July 2026
Volume 27, Issue 3
Newsletter of School of Hotel & Tourism Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
SHTM Scholars Successfully Obtained Major Publicly Funded Competitive Research Grants
Academic research is a cornerstone of higher education, and the research output of the SHTM clearly demonstrates that it is a world-leading hospitality and tourism school. Announcements from the Research Grants Councils' General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) have indicated that 14 SHTM projects will be funded in 2026/27 to a total of HK$7.7 million.

GRF Projects:

Principal Investigator Co-Investigator(s) Project Title
Prof Sam Kim 1) Prof Seoki Lee, Penn State University
2) Prof Ki-Joon Back, University of Houston
Providing a Standardised Guideline for Hotel ESG Performance Evaluation Through the Development of a Validated and Standardised Hotel ESG Performance Evaluation Index (HESGPEI)
Prof Mimi Li 1) Dr Guyang Lin, Fujian Normal University
2) Dr Luodi Yu, Guangzhou University
Unveiling Neurodiversity Toward a Meaningful Life: Cognitive-Neural Mechanisms of Travel Decisions in Autistic Adults
Prof Dan Wang 1) Prof Hailiang Wang, School of Design, PolyU
2) Dr Zhicong Lu, George Mason University
Redefining Value-Aligned Messaging in Hotel Green Marketing: An Agent-Based Model Approach
Prof Lisa Gao 1) Dr Tingting Liu, Xiamen University
2) Dr Jun Xu, Nankai University
AI Recommendations in Travel Booking: Navigating the Impact of Algorithmic Persuasion on Senior Travellers' Decision-Making
Prof Alice Hon 1) Prof Billy Bai, SHTM
2) Prof Lin Lu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
A Multi-Level Effect of Organisational Team Empowerment on Frontline Employee Service Innovation and Customer Satisfaction Outcomes: A Paradigm of Role Identity
Prof Sabrina Huang 1) Prof Lisa Gao, SHTM Exploring the Impact of Influencer Outrage Marketing on Tourists' Social Media and Travel Behaviour through Presumed Media Influence
Prof YooHee Hwang 1) Dr Angie Luo, SHTM
2) Prof Seunghun Shin, SHTM
3) Prof Bela Stantic, SHTM
Beyond One-Menu-Fits-All: Tailoring Restaurant Children's Menus to Developmental Stages for Healthier Dining
Prof Neil Li 1) Prof Yang Yang, Temple University Pathways from "Doing Good" to "Doing Well": How Hotel Sustainability Certifications Influence the Customer Journey
Prof Maxime Wang 1) Dr Zihan Liu, Singapore Management University Automated Video Interview-General Hospitality and Tourism Industry Competencies: A Whole Process Framework Empowered by Foundation Models and Fine-tuning
Prof Nan Chen 1) Dr Roshis Krishna Shrestha, SHTM
2) Prof Robert Li, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
3) Dr Tong Yang, SHTM
The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Governing Rural Tourism Gentrification: Social Innovation, Stakeholder Sentiment, and the Quest for Sustainable Value
Prof Jinah Park 1) Prof Sangwon Park, Kyung Hee University
2) Prof Richard Qiu, SHTM
From Cues to Engagement: Exploring Visitors' Appraisals to Creative Tourism Experiences in VR by Leveraging Biometric Data
Dr Curley Liu 1) Dr Eden Jiao, University of Surrey
2) Prof Richard Qiu, SHTM
3) Prof Haiyan Song, SHTM
Artificial Intelligence and Labour Shortages in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry: A Multilevel Task-Based Framework Using Large Language Models and Online Job Postings
Dr Hanyuan Zhang 1) Prof Haiyan Song, SHTM
2) Dr Xiaoguang Zhu, University of California, Davis
The Effects of Price and Benefit Framing on the Demand for Voluntary Carbon Offsetting in Tourism
 
ECS Project:

Principal Investigator Collaborators Project Title
Prof Huihui Zhang 1) Prof Zheng Xiang, Virginia Tech
2) Prof Wai Lam, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Generative AI, Humans, and Their Collaboration in Online Customer Communication: The Role of Linguistic Background
 



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