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 150 scientific publications, including approximately 60 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 $800,000 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 associate editor of Tourism Analysis and Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, and serves on the editorial board of seven academic journals including Journal of Travel Research and Journal of Vacation Marketing. She is a guest editor of Anatolia special issue and a reviewer for more than 15 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.

Research

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

Honors and 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. Moddy 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 Publications

Zhang, P., Meng, F., So, K.K.F. (2020). "Scale development of co-creation experience." Journal of Travel Research.

Zhang, P., Meng, F., Gerdes, J. (2020). "The impact of cultural distance on hotel guests’ evaluation — a big data approach." International Journal of Tourism Research.

Zou, Y., Meng, F., Li, N., & Pu, E. (2020). "Ethnic minority cultural festival experience: Visitor-environment fit, cultural contact and behavioral intention." Tourism Economics. 1354816620966404.

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.

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.

Hudson, S., Meng, F., So, K. K. F., Smith, S., Li, J., & Qi, R. (2019). "The effect of lodging tax increases on U.S. destinations." Tourism Economics. 1354816619890752.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Meng, F., Zou, T., Li, H., Ren, Y., & Zhang, P. (2016). "International Tourism Hub: Function Assessment and Application." Tourism Economics, 22(6), 1225-1244. 

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.

Jahandideh, B., Colmohammadi, A., Meng, F., O’Gorman, K., 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.

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.

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)