Prof. Fevzi Okumus

Prof. Fevzi Okumus joined the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of South Carolina in August 2025 as Director of Global Strategy and Strategic Engagement and William McFall “Mac” Pearce Endowed Professor. An internationally recognized scholar, his work has significantly influenced strategic management, organizational behavior, sustainability, and innovation in hospitality and tourism. With extensive experience in both academia and the hotel industry, he is known for bridging theory and practice to address global challenges.

Before this role, Okumus served as the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association Preeminent Chair Professor at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, where he also founded and led the Department of Hospitality Services (2007–2013). His academic career includes positions at Mugla and Erciyes Universities in Turkey, alongside earlier industry experience.

He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from Oxford Brookes University and a B.S. from Cukurova University. Okumus has authored over 330 publications, including more than 220 journal articles. His work has garnered over 34,000 citations (h-index 82). He is editor-in-chief of three leading journals and serves on 25 editorial boards while actively contributing to global research, consulting, and funded projects.

Prof. Jiaying Lyu

Prof. Jiaying Lyu serves as Dean at the School of International School of Cultural Tourism, Qiantang Distinguished Professor at Hangzhou City University. She earned her PhD from Texas A&M University. She also holds concurrent posts as Associate Dean of Zhejiang Grand Canal Culture Research Institute, and Executive Director of Global Digital MICE Innovation Center. Additionally, she works as associate editor of the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism.

Her core research covers cultural and tourism industry management, conservation and revitalization of cultural heritage, tourism destination management, and digital governance . She has presided over three national-level research projects, alongside ten provincial research projects. She has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers in top domestic and international academic journals such as Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, International Journal of Hospitality Management, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. Her research achievements have won the Excellent Research Awards from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and international academic conferences. She also works as an entrepreneurship mentor for small and medium-sized cultural tourism enterprises.

Prof. Myung Ja Kim

Myung Ja Kim, Ph.D., is the Founding Director of AirStas, a Distinguished Professor in Sunway Business School, Sunway University, and Sejong University, an Adjunct Professor in Prince of Songkla University, and a Visiting Professor in Hanyang University and Macau University of Science and Technology. Her research focuses on digitalization, sustainability, space tourism, space business, innovative technology, climate crisis, and data analytics/AI. Her papers have been selected as the most downloaded, read, and cited articles by top SSCI journals. She has published over 100 articles in globally reputed top-tier SSCI journals and has recently been awarded several research grants related to sustainable tourism technologies. She has served as an associate editor of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism and an editorial board member for 10 more internationally reputed journals. She has secured multiple major research grants exceeding total USD 8 million to date.

Prof. Ruhet Genç

With professional and academic experience spanning the USA, Canada, Germany, France, and Türkiye, Prof. Ruhet Genç has built his career around a simple philosophy: “Think Globally, Act Locally.”

His journey has brought together three worlds—business, research, and teaching—giving him plenty of experience and, fortunately, plenty of stories to share with his students.

A full-time professor at four different universities throughout his academic career, he specializes in Management and Strategy, particularly in Logistics and Tourism. His teaching has ranged from Cross-Cultural Management and Business Negotiations to Dispute Solving and International Hospitality Management.

He currently teaches at the Turkish-German University in Istanbul, where his international experience continues to shape his approach:

Different countries, different cultures, different ways of doing business—but good management speaks every language.

Dr. Fu Jing

Dr. Fu Jing is an Associate Professor in the School of Tourism and Culture Industry at Chengdu University, Mainland China. She earned her Ph.D. in Knowledge Management with a specialization in e-tourism knowledge supply chains from Chiang Mai University, Thailand, on a full scholarship. She subsequently completed postdoctoral research in digital marketing for tourism destinations at the International Hellenic University, Greece, supported by the Erasmus Mundus Panacea framework.

Dr. Fu’s research operates at the intersection of knowledge management, tourism and hospitality, and higher education governance. Her work focuses on knowledge supply chains, digital innovation in hospitality, destination marketing, and sustainable tourism practices. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed SSCI- and Scopus-indexed journals, co-authored monographs with academic publishers such as Springer, and serves as an active reviewer for toptier journals, including the Journal of Knowledge Management, Tourism Review, and International Journal of Tourism Cities.

A recognized leader in international academic cooperation, Dr. Fu has spearheaded and managed several European Union-funded grants, including the Erasmus+ Tourism-Zero, Chef Metalab, SHYFTE, Panacea, and A Sustainable e-Tourism projects. She also directs transnational research initiatives across Asia and Europe, co-supervises Ph.D. candidates at Chiang Mai University and the National Institute of Development Administration (Thailand), and frequently delivers invited keynote addresses and guest lectures internationally on destination marketing, sustainable tourism, and global higher education partnerships.

Her previous leadership roles include Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Studies at Chengdu University, Program Manager of MicroMaster’s Program at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management, and Vice Rector (part-time) at Chengdu Gingko College of Hospitality Management

Dr. Kiran Shinde (Online)

Dr. Kiran Shinde is a leading scholar in religious and cultural heritage tourism and its links with urban planning and management. He has published 80+ works, including six books with major publishers and articles in leading journals. His books include Religious Heritage and Tourism in Asia (co-edited with Dallen Timothy, Routledge, 2026), A Research Agenda for Religious Tourism (co-edited with Joseph Cheer, Edward Elgar, 2024), Sacred Sites, Rituals, and Performances: New Perspective for Religious Tourism Development (MDPI, 2021), Religious Tourism and the Environment (co-edited with Daniel Olsen, CABI, 2020), and Buddhist Tourism in Asia: Towards Sustainable Development (UNWTO, 2020). He led a UNWTO project on Buddhist heritage and tourism across 16 countries, has delivered keynote addresses internationally, serves as an associate editor of Tourism Geographies, and is a member of the editorial boards of Annals of Tourism Research and Tourism Planning and Development. He is a former head of the Planning Program at La Trobe University and holds a Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Science from Monash University Australia.