Hospitality and Tourism Expert in Hong Kong accorded Double Honours

Prof. Kaye Chon, Chair Professor and Director of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management, has been named one of “The 10 Most Influential Teachers in China Tourism and Hotel Education in 2007”. He has also won the title of “Personality with Outstanding Contribution to the China Hotel Industry” of the Third China Hotel Starlight Award.

The awards, presented at the Human Capital Meeting in China Hotel Industry and at the Asia Hotel Forum held earlier in Guangzhou, are regarded as prestigious recognition of remarkable achievements in the hospitality industry of China.

Prof. Chon said, “It is a tremendous compliment for me to be awarded the double accolades. They have given me and my team at PolyU strong impetus to further develop professional education and research for the fast-growing hotel and tourism industry in both Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.”

Prof. Chon was the past President and Chairman of the International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators, and is currently the First Vice Chairman of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Education Council. Having lectured and taught at many prestigious universities all over the world, Prof. Chon has achieved international reputation for his exceptional contribution to global hospitality education development through his leadership and research contribution.

Among his many academic and scholarly contributions, Prof. Chon has published over 200 papers in academic journals and authored or edited eight books. His co-authored book Welcome to Hospitality: An Introduction has been adopted as a textbook for over 100 hospitality education programmes worldwide.

Prof. Chon’s research efforts have been focusing on the study of consumer behaviour as well as tourism and hospitality consumption, with a particular interest in product image and customer satisfaction in tourism. In recent years, his research areas have been expanded to include: a broad and general area of marketing and strategic development in hospitality and tourism, issues related to service quality enhancement, customer satisfaction strategies, business and convention tourism, and strategic management of community-based tourism.

Under Prof. Chon’s leadership, PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management in Hong Kong now ranks fourth among the world’s top hotel and tourism schools based on research and scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research in 2005. The School, with over 50 academic staff drawing from 18 countries, now offers programmes at levels ranging from Higher Diploma to PhD.

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