Centre for Competitiveness of the Visitor Economy

We are addressing competitiveness issues in the visitor economy across firm, sector and destination levels.

Spotlight on our research

Our research has great impact, and we are proud to highlight our achievements through a series of short films, told by our research authors.

Impact in Conversation: Professor Allan Williams | University of Surrey

Research aims

We aim to address equality and diversity in employment and conduct studies of future labour markets, productivity, career mobilities, skills, flexible employment and entrepreneurial migration, while examining other aspects of competitiveness at both firm and destination levels, such as advances in destination branding, visitor satisfaction, innovation, revenue management, and risk and disaster impacts.

We also aim to maintain our world-leading position in demand-forecasting research, which provides a scientific foundation to support businesses’ and governments’ decision making to improve their competitiveness.

Research areas

Our research focuses on four key areas:

Economic modelling and forecasting
Employment, labour mobility, flexibility, productivity and gender
Innovation and entrepreneurship
Visitor experience and destination marketing

Covid-19 research in hospitality and tourism

Our research aims to understand the needs and requirements of businesses and travellers to be able to return to a new normality when it comes to travelling and the prosperity of businesses.

Find out more

Research projects

Engaging new travel audiences: understanding the Black travellers’ decision-making process

Principal investigator: Dr Albert Kimbu

Start date: May 2021

End date: September 2021

Tourism recovery, risk and uncertainty

Principal investigator: Professor Allan Williams

Start date: March 2021

End date: August 2021

Virtual experiences in arts and heritage: Facilitating engagement with virtual solutions and exploring futures for hybrid business models

Start date: March 2021

End date: November 2021

Understanding the landscape of inbound tourism measurement

Principal investigator: Dr Jason Chen

Start date: 21 January 2021

End date: 31 March 2021

Social and economic impacts of arts in Surrey

Principal investigator: Professor Gang Li

Start date: 01 March 2020

End date: 01 July 2020

Review of evidence of elasticities relevant to tourism in Scotland

Principal investigator: Dr Jason Chen

Start date: 17 February 2020

End date: 10 April 2020

Exploring the process of creating exhibition service innovation from value propositions in service-dominant logic

Principal investigator: Jin Soo Lee

Start date: January 2020

End date: December 2021

General-to-specific modelling with Bayesian bootstrap aggregation in tourism demand

Principal investigator: Professor Haiyan Song

Start date: September 2019

End date: August 2022

Towards an impactful national association for UK's arts festivals sector

Principal investigators: Dr Shi (Tracy) Xu, Dr Yanning Li

Start date: May 2019

End date: July 2019

Women's entrepreneurial journeys through tourism in sub-Saharan Africa

Principal investigator: Dr Albert Kimbu

Start date: January 2019

End date: September 2019

Women's journey through innovation in the tourism industry

Principal investigators: Dr Cristina Figueroa Domecq, Professor Allan Williams

Start date: September 2018

End date: August 2020

Marketing capability of Chinese exhibitors in overseas countries

Principal investigator: Jingna Wang

Start date: July 2018

End date: July 2021

Creating the tourist satisfaction index of China inbound tourism from Britain

Start date: 01 January 2016

End date: 01 January 2017

Socio-economic impact of Clean Sky 1

Start date: 2016

End date: 2017

Visitor forecasting for Shanghai Disney Resort: impact on Disney’s pricing strategy

Start date: 2015

End date: 2015

Cross-border regional innovation system integration

Principal investigators: Dr Teemu Makkonen, Professor Allan Williams

Start date: 2014

End date: 2016

Labour productivity, work flexibility, and international migration in hotels

Principal investigators: Professor Allan Williams, Professor Andrew Lockwood, Sangwon Park

Start date: August 2013

End date: March 2015

Destination branding: tourism and events in northern regions

Start date: 2013

End date: 2016

Key factors for SME competitiveness in the context of globalisation

Start date: 2013

End date: 2015

Visitor forecasts of the Asia-Pacific region

Principal investigator: Professor Haiyan Song

Start date: December 2012

End date: Ongoing

The innovation journey of tourism entrepreneurs: evidence from Spain and the UK and policy implications

Principal investigators: Professor Allan Williams, Dr Isabel Rodriguez

Start date: June 0016

End date: May 2018

Youth mobility - maximising opportunities for individuals, labour markets and regions in Europe (YMOBILITY)

Principal investigators: Professor Allan Williams, Professor Gang Li, Hania Janta

Start date: March 0014

End date: March 2018

(Re)engaging with sport fans post-Covid

Principal investigators: Dr Yanning Li, Dr Bora Kim, Dr Shi (Tracy) Xu

Consumer purchasing intention in restaurants and hotels post-Covid-19 lockdown

Principal investigators: Dr Yoo Ri Kim, Dr Anyu Liu

Covid-19 impact on the Chinese air transport markets

Principal investigator: Dr Frankie O'Connell

Examining the resilience of hospitality companies during the Covid-19 pandemic

Principal investigators: Dr Shi (Tracy) Xu, Mark Ashton, Dr Yanning Li

Innovative pricing: Pay-as-you-wish as a means to attract customers to museums post Covid-19

Principal investigators: Dr Brigitte Stangl, Dr Margit Kastner

Service design and information provision requirements based on proxemics

Principal investigators: Dr Brigitte Stangl, Owen Grainger-Jones, Dr Margit Kastner

Spatial disparities in SME productivity: evidence from the service sectors in England

Principal investigators: Dr Tiwasing Tiwasing, Dr Yoo Ri Kim, Katiuscia Lavoratori, Temitope Akinremi, Diletta Pegoraro

Publications

Akyildirim, E., Corbet, S., O’Connell, J.F., Sensoy, A., (2021). The influence of aviation disasters on engine manufacturers: An analysis of financial and reputational contagion risks, 74, 101630

Balaz, V., Nezinsky, E., Williams, A.M. (2021). Terrorism, migrant crisis and attitudes towards immigrants from outside of the European Union. Population Space and Place 2021: e2424, 1-21. DOI: 10.1002/psp.2424

Cai, Y., G. Li, L. Wen and C. Liu (2021). Post-pandemic Dark Tourism in Former Epicenters, Tourism Economics. DOI: 10.1177/13548166211034639.

Chen, Y., Dai, Y., Liu, A., Liu, W., & Jia, L. (2021). Can the COVID-19 risk perception affect tourists’ responsible behavior intention: an application of the structural equation model. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1-20.

Corbet, S., Efthymiou, M., Lucey, B., O'Connell, J.F., (2021). When lightning strikes twice: The tragedy-induced demise and attempted corporate resuscitation of Malaysia airlines. Annals of Tourism Research, 87, 103109

Efthymiou, M., Usher, D., O’Connell, J.F., Warnock-Smith, D., Conyngham, G., (2021). The factors influencing entry level airline pilot retention: An empirical study of Ryanair. Journal of Air Transport Management, 91, 101997

Efthymiou, M., Whiston, S., O'Connell, J.F., Brown, G.D., (2021). Flight Crew evaluation of the Flight Time Limitations Regulation. Case Studies on Transport Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp. 2021.01.002

Hou, Y., K. Zhang and G. Li (2021). Service Robots or Human Staff: How Social Crowding Shapes Tourist Preferences. Tourism Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104242

Jiao, X., J. L. Chen and G. Li (2021). Forecasting tourism demand: Developing a general nesting spatiotemporal model. Annals of Tourism Research, 90. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103277

Jolly, P., Van Hoof, H., Kim, B., Chen, F., Duran, M.E., Navas, A.C., Maldonado, G., Valle, J.G. (2021). Cultural Looseness and Tightness (CLT): A Study of Cultural Looseness and Tightness in the context of Latin America, PLoS ONE 16(1): e0246064. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246064

Kimbu, A.N., de Jong, A., Adam, I., Ribeiro, A.M., Adeola, O., Afenyo-Agbe, E., & Figueroa-Domecq, C. (2021). Recontextualising gender in entrepreneurial leadership. Annals of Tourism Research, 88C.

Kim, Y., M. A. Ribeiro, G. Li (2021). Tourism Memory Characteristics Scale: Development and Validation. Journal of Travel Research, 1-19. DOI: 10.1177/00472875211033355

Kim, Y. R., Liu, A., & Williams, A. M. (2021). Competitiveness in the visitor economy: A systematic literature review. Tourism Economics, https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166211034437

Kim, Y. R., & Liu, A. (2021). Social distancing, trust and post-COVID-19 recovery. Tourism Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104416.

Kim, Y. R. and Lin, S. (2021) ‘The non-linear relationship between brand diversification and hotel owner performance: the roles of ownership structure and location as moderators’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 49, pp. 235–243. doi: 10.1016/J.JHTM.2021.09.017.

Kim, Y. R., Liu, A., Stienmetz, J. and Chen, Y. (2021) ‘Visitor flow spillover effects on attraction demand: A spatial econometric model with multisource data’, Tourism Management, 88, p. 104432. doi: 10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2021.104432.

Kim, Y. R. and Liu, A. (2021) ‘Social distancing, trust and post-COVID-19 recovery’, Tourism Management, 88, p. 104416. doi: 10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2021.104416.

Kim, B., & Lee, S. (2021). The impact of celebrity CEOs on restaurant firm performance: The moderating role of environmental dynamism. Journal of Business Research,139, 869-880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.031

Lee, P., Xu, S., Yang, W. (2021). Is career adaptability a double-edged sword? The impact of work social support and career adaptability on turnover intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Hospitality Management.

Liu, A., Vici, L., Ramos, V., Giannoni, S., & Blake, A. (2021). Visitor arrivals forecasts amid COVID-19: A perspective from the Europe team. Annals of Tourism Research, 88, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103182

Liu, A., Kim, Y. R. and O’Connell, J. F. (2021). ‘COVID-19 AND THE AVIATION INDUSTRY: The Interrelationship between the Spread of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Frequency of Flights on the EU Market’, Annals of Tourism Research, p. 103298. doi: 10.1016/J.ANNALS.2021.103298.

Liu, H., Liu, Y., Wen, L. and Li, G. (2021). Tourism Demand Nowcasting Using a LASSO-MIDAS Model. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33(6), 1922-1949. DOI: 10.1108/IJCHM-06-2020-0589.

Liu, H., P. Wu and G. Li (2021). Do crises affect the sustainability of the economic effects of tourism? A case study of Hong Kong. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2021.1966018

Qiu, R. T., Liu, A., Stienmetz, J. L., & Yu, Y. (2021). Timing matters: crisis severity and occupancy rate forecasts in social unrest periods. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2020-0629

Ribeiro, A.M., Adam, I., Kimbu, A.N., Afenyo-Agbe, E., Adeola, O., Figueroa-Domecq, C., & de Jong, A. (2021). Women entrepreneurship orientation, networks and firm performance in the tourism industry in resource-scarce contexts. Tourism Management, 86

Rodríguez Sánchez, I., Mantecón, A., Williams, A. M., Makkonen, T., & Kim, Y. R. (2021). Originality: The Holy Grail of Tourism Research. Journal of Travel Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875211033343

Shaw, M., Tiernan, S., O’Connell, J.F., Warnock-Smith, D., Efthymiou, M., (2021). Third party ancillary revenues in the airline sector: An exploratory study. Journal of Air Transport Management, 90, 101936

Smith, W., Cohen, S. Kimbu, A.N. & de Jong, A. (2021). Reshaping Gender in Aviation Employment. Annals of Tourism Research, 89.

Smith, E.W., Kimbu, A.N., de Jong. A., & Cohen, S. (2021) Gendered Instagram representations in the aviation industry. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1932933

Song, H. and G. Li (2021). Editorial: Tourism Forecasting Competition in the Time of COVID-19. Annals of Tourism Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103198

Song, H. A. Liu, G. Li and X. Liu (2021). Bayesian Bootstrap Aggregation for Tourism Demand Forecasting, International Journal of Tourism Research, https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2453

Wang, Y., Xu, S., Ma, E. (Accepted). Serve perfectly, being happier: A perfectionistic perspective on customer-driven hotel employee citizenship behavior and well-being. International Journal of Hospitality Management.

Warnock-Smith, D., Graham, A., O'Connell, J. F., Efthymiou, M. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on air transport passenger markets: Examining evidence from the Chinese market. Journal of Air Transport Management, 94, 102085.

Williams, A. M. (2021). Human mobililty and tourism development: a complex knot of enfolded mobilities, in Dieke, P. U. C., King, B. E. M. and Sharpley, R. A. J. (eds) Tourism in Development: Reflective Essays, Wallingford: CABI

Xiang, C.H. and Wang, X.L. (2021) China Ready: Chinese for Hospitality and Tourism. Routledge: Abington, Oxford.

Xu, S., Martinez, L. R., & Van Hoof, H. (Accepted). How team emotions impact individual employee strain before, during, and after a stressful event: A latent growth curve modeling approach. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.

Akyildirim, E., Corbet, S., Efthymiou, M., Guiomar, C., O'Connell, J.F., Sensoy, A. (2020). The financial market effects of international aviation disasters. International Review of Financial Analysis, 69, 101468.

Baldwin, J, Haven-Tang, C., Gill, S. Morgan, N., and Pritchard, A. Using the Perceptual Experience Lab (PEL) to simulate tourism environments for hedonic wellbeing, Journal of Information Technology & Tourism, 1-23.

Dayour, F., Adongo, A.C., & Kimbu, N.A. (2020). Insurance uptake among small and medium-sized tourism and hospitality enterprises in a resource-scarce environment. Tourism Management Perspectives, Volume 34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100674

Eckardt, C., Font, X. & Kimbu, N.A. (2020) Realistic evaluation as a volunteer tourism supply chain methodology. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(5), 647-662, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2019.1696350

Figueroa-Domecq, C., de Jong, A., & Williams, A. M. (2020). Gender, tourism & entrepreneurship: A critical review. Annals of Tourism Research, 84, 102980.

Figueroa-Domecq, C., Kimbu, A., de Jong, A., & Williams, A.M. (2020): Sustainability through the tourism entrepreneurship journey: a gender perspective, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2020.1831001

Finniear, J., Morgan, N., Chambers, D. and Munar, A. (2020) Gender-Based Harassment in Academia: Organisational Collusion, Coercion and Compliance, pp. 30-44 in Paola Vizcaino-Suárez, Heather Jefferies and Claudia Eger (Eds.), Gender-Based Harassment in Tourism, Wallingford: CABI.

Hou, Y., K. Zhang and G. Li (2020). Service Robots or Human Staff: How Social Crowding Shapes Tourist Preferences. Tourism Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104242.

Huijuan, Y., O’Connell, J.F. (2020). Short-term carbon emissions forecast for aviation industry in Shanghai. Journal of Cleaner Production, 275, 122734

Jiao, X., G. Li and J. L. Chen (2020). Forecasting International Tourism Demand: A Local Spatiotemporal Model. Annals of Tourism Research, 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102937.

Kim, Y., Williams A.M., Park, A., & Chen, L. (2020) Agglomeration economies and productivity in the tourism industry: the case o f the UK, Tourism Management

Kimbu, N.A. & Tichaawa, T.M. (2020) Determinants of impact investing for tourism development in emerging destinations of sub-Saharan Africa, Development Southern Africa, DOI: 10.1080/0376835X.2020.1724530

Li, G., & X. Jiao (2020). Tourism forecasting research: a perspective article. Tourism Review, 75(1), 263-266. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-09-2019-0382.

Li, H., M. Hu and G. Li (2020). Forecasting Tourism Demand with Multisource Big Data. Annals of Tourism Research, 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102912.

Li. H., Qi, R., Liu, H., Meng, F., & Zhang, Z. (2020). Can time soften your opinion? The impact of review temporal distance on restaurant evaluation conformity. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102729.

Lin, S., Y. Qin, G. Li and J. Wu (2020). Determinants of Chinese households’ tourism consumption: Evidence from China Family Panel Studies. International Journal of Tourism Research.

Lin, S., & Kim, Y. R. (2020). Diversification strategies and failure rates in the Texas lodging industry: Franchised versus company-operated hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 88, p. 102525. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102525.

Lin Shih‐Chuan, Kim Yoo Ri (2020) Heterogeneous effects of hotel ownership structure changes on localized market competition using multilevel mixed‐effect analyses, In: Managerial and Decision Economics pp. 1-13. DOI: 10.1002/mde.3274.

Liu, A., S. Lin, G. Li and H. Song (2020). Ex-ante Tourism Forecasting Assessment. Journal of Travel Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520974456.

Liu, H. & Li, X. (2020). How travel earns us bragging rights: A qualitative inquiry and conceptualization of travel bragging rights. Journal of Travel Research, DOI: 10.1177/0047287520964599.

Lund, N. F. & Kimbu, A. (2020) Applying the Hollywood scriptwriting formula to destination branding. Current Issues in Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2020.1739005

Ma, E., Wu, L., Yang, W., & Xu, S. (Accepted). Hotel work-family support policies and employees' needs, concerns and challenges—the case of working mothers' maternity leave experience. Tourism Management.

Morgan, N., Finniear, J., and Sie, L. (2020) Social Tourism in Later Life, in McCabe, S. and Diekmann, A. (Eds.), Social Tourism Handbook, Edward Elgar: Oxford.

O'Connell, J. F., Avellana, R. M., Warnock-Smith, D., & Efthymiou, M. (2020). Evaluating drivers of profitability for airlines in Latin America: A case study of Copa Airlines. Journal of Air Transport Management, 84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2019.101727

Tiwasing Pattanapong, Kim Yoo Ri, Akinremi Temitope (2020) Spatial disparities in SME productivity: evidence from the service sector in England, In: Regional Studies, Regional Science7(1) pp. 589-602. DOI: 10.1080/21681376.2020.1854111.

van der Rest, J.P., Sears, A., Miao, L. and Wang, X.L. (2020) A note on the future of personalized pricing: cause for concern. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 19(2), 113-118.

van der Rest, J., Wang, L., & Miao, L. (2020). Ethical concerns and legal challenges in revenue and pricing management. Journal of Revenue Pricing Management, 19, 83–84. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41272-020-00239-1

Warnock-Smith, D., Cameron, D., & O’Connell, J. F. (2020). Organisational Trust: a case Application In The Air Transport Sector. Transport Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.01.004

Williams, A. M. & Hall, M. (2020) Tourism and Innovation, second edition, Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Williams, A. M., Rodriguez, I., & Makonnen, T. (2020). Innovation and smart destinations: critical insights, Annals of Tourism Research, 83, 1-10.

Williams, A. M., & Balaz, V. (2020) Tourism and trust: theoretical reflections, Jourrnal of Travel Research DOI: 10.1177/0047287520961177

Xu, S., Cao, Z., & Huo, Y. (Accepted). Antecedents and outcomes of emotional labour in hospitality and tourism: A meta-analysis. Tourism Management.

Xu, S., Stienmetz, J., & Ashton, M. (2020). How will robots redefine leadership in hotel management? A Delphi approach. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(6), 2217-2237.

Yang, Y., Liu, H., & Chen, X. (2020). COVID-19 and restaurant demand: Early effects of the pandemic and stay-at-home orders. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

Yu, Y., Xu, S., Li, G., & Shi, D. (2020). Applications of the experience sampling method: a research agenda for hospitality management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2019-0362

Yu, Y., Xu, S., Li, G, & Kong, H. (2020). Systematic review of research on abusive supervision in hospitality. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2019-1004

Zhang, K., Y. Hou and G. Li (2020). Threat of Infectious Disease during an Outbreak: Influence on Tourists’ Emotional Responses to Disadvantaged Price Inequality. Annals of Tourism Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102993

Altinay, L., Song, H., Madanoglu, M. and Wang, X.L. (2019). The influence of customer-to-customer interactions on elderly consumers’ satisfaction and social well-being, International Journal of Hospitality Management. Vol. 78, p223-233.

Corbet, S., O’Connell, John F., Efthymiou, M., Guiomard, C., Lucey, B. (2019). The Impact of terrorism on European tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 75, 1-17

Baláž , V., Williams, A. M., Moravčíková , K., & Chrančoková, M. (2019). What Competences, Which migrants? Tacit and Explicit Knowledge Acquired via Migration, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1679409

Dayour F., Park, S. & Kimbu A.N. (2019). Backpackers’ perceived risks towards smartphone usage and risk reduction strategies: A mixed methods study. Tourism Management, 62, pp 52-68.

Janta, H., Jephcote, C., Williams, A. M., & Li, G. (2019), Returned Migrants Acquisition of Competences: the Contingencies of Space and Time. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1679408

Kimbu A.N., Ngoasong, M.Z., Adeola, O. & Afenyo-Agbe, E. (2019). Collaborative Networks for sustainable human capital management in women’s tourism entrepreneurship: The role of tourism policy. Tourism Planning & Development, 16 (2) pp. 161-178

Li, G., D.C. Wu, M. Zhou & A. Liu (2019). The combination of interval forecasts in tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 75, 363-378. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2019.01.010.

Li, S., A. Liu & H. Song (2019). Does tourism support supply-side structural reform in China?, Tourism Management, 71, 305-314.

Ngoasong M. Z. & Kimbu A.N. (2019). Why Hurry? The Slow Process of High Growth in Women‐Owned Businesses in a Resource‐Scarce Context. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(1), pp. 40-58.

Palovic, Z., Janta, H., & Williams, A. M. (2019). In Search of Global Skillsets: Manager Perceptions of the Value of Returned Migrants and the Relational Nature of Knowledge, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1679412

Ram, A., O’Connell, J.F., Efthymiou, M., Njoya, E.T. (2019). How safe is safe? A Canadian air carriers safety behaviour investigation. Journal of Air Transport Studies, 10(2), 1-30

Rodriguez Sanchez Isabel, Williams A.M., García Andreu, H. (2019). Customer resistance to tourism innovations: entrepreneurs? understanding and management strategies, Journal of Travel Research SAGE Publications (in press).

Rodriguez, I., Makkonen, T., & Williams A. M. (2019). Originality peer review assessment in tourism journals, Annals of Tourism Research (in press).

Stienmetz, J. L., A. Liu & I.P. Tussyadiah (2019). UK Residents’ Opinions of Peer-to-Peer Accommodation Impact on Quality of Life, In: Pesonen J., Neidhardt J. (eds.), Inf ormation and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2019, 80-91

Segovia-Pérez Mónica, Figueroa-Domecq Cristina, Fuentes-Moraleda Laura, Muñoz-Mazón Ana (2019). Incorporating a gender approach in the hospitality industry: Female executives’ perceptions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, pp. 184-193.

Sun, H., Wu, S., Li, Y., Dai, G. (2019) Tourist-to-tourist interaction at festivals: a grounded theory approach. Sustainability, 11(15), 4030. doi:10.3390/su11154030

Tichaawa, M.T. & Kimbu A.N. (2019) Unlocking Policy Impediments for Service Delivery in Tourism Firms: Evidence from Small and Medium Sized Hotels in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tourism Planning & Development, 6 (2) pp. 179-196

Verreynne Martie-Louise, Williams A.M., Brent, R, Sarel, G., & Kim, B. (2019) Innovation diversity and uncertainty in small and medium sized tourism firms, Tourism Management, 72, 257-269.

Xu, S., & Cao, Z. (2019). Antecedents and outcomes of work-nonwork conflict in hospitality: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. (Accepted).

Xu, S., Martinez, L. R., & Smith, N. (Accepted). The effects of attractiveness, gender and self-esteem in service jobs. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

Xu, S. & Wang, J. (2019). Still waters stay put: Uncovering the effects of emotional variability using experience sampling methodology. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. (Accepted).

Williams, A. M., Rodríguez, I., & Škokić, V. (2019). Innovation, Risk, and Uncertainty: A Study of Tourism Entrepreneurs. Journal of Travel Research (in press).

Williams, A. M. (2019) Migration, tourism and globalisation, in D Timothy (ed.) Handbook of Globalisation and Tourism, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar pp.66-75

Wong, I., Xu, S., Chan, G., & He, M. (2019). A cross-level investigation of the role of human resources practices: Does brand equity matter? Tourism Management, 75, 418-426.

Wu, S., Li, Y., Wood, E., Senaux, B. & Dai, G. (2019) Liminality and festivals - insights from the east. Annals of Tourism Research.

Assaf A, Li G, Song H, Tsionas M (2018) Modeling and Forecasting Regional Tourism Demand Using the Bayesian Global Vector Autoregressive (BGVAR) Model, Journal of Travel Research. DOI: 10.1177/0047287518759226.

Fan, D.X.F., A. Liu & R.T.R. Qiu (2018). Revisiting the relationship between host attitudes and tourism development: A utility maximization approach, Tourism Economics, DOI: 10.1177/1354816618794088.

Ji M, Eves A & Wong A (2018). A Multilevel Investigation of China’s Intra-Regional Economic Condition on Experience Co-Creation and Dining Outcomes. IJCHM 30 (4) 2132 - 2152

Kim, B., L. Zhou & A. Liu (2018). Culture and Service Quality: Case of Hong Kong, In: Cai, L.& Alaedini, P. (eds), Quality Services and Experiences in Hospitality and Tourism, 59-74, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Lin Vera Shanshan, Yang Yang, Li G (2018) Where can tourism-led growth and economy-driven tourism growth occur?, Journal of Travel Research, DOI: 10.1177/0047287518773919.

A. Liu., H. Song & A. Blake (2018). Modelling productivity shocks and economic growth using the Bayesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium approach, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2017-0686.

A. Liu., V.S. Lin & H. Song (2018). Analysing and Forecasting Tourism Demand, In: Cooper C., Volo, S., Gartner W., and Scott N. (eds), The SAGE Handbook of Tourism Management, pp. 202-221, SAGE Publishing.

Liu, A., Wang, X.L., Liu, F. Yao, C. and Deng, Z. (2018) Soundscape and its influence on tourist satisfaction. The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 38, p164-181.

Makkonen Teemu, Williams Allan, Habersetzer Antoine (2018) Foreign board members and firm innovativeness: An exploratory analysis for setting a research agenda, Corporate Governance 18 (6) pp. 1057-1073.

Makkonen Teemu, Williams Allan, Mitze Timo, Weidenfeld Adi (2018) Science and Technology Cooperation in Cross-border Regions: A Proximity Approach with Evidence for Northern Europe, European Planning Studies 26 (10) pp. 1961-1979 Taylor & Francis.

Manyiwa, S., Piporas, C. and Wang, X.L (2018) Influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city. Journal of Place Management and Development. Vol.11, No.1, p66-77.

Martinez, L. R., Xu, S., & Hebl, M. (2018). Utilizing education and perspective taking to remediate the stigma of taking antidepressants. Community Mental Health Journal, 54, 450-459.

Nadine Meichsner, N.A., O’Connell, John F., Warnock-Smith, D. (2018). The future for African air transport: Learning from Ethiopian Airlines, Journal of Transport Geography, 71, 182-197.

Qiu, R. T., Fan, D. X., & A. Liu. (2018). Exploring the booking determinants of the Airbnb properties: an example of the listings of London. In: Stangl B. and Pesonen, J. (eds), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2018 pp. 44-51. Springer, Cham.

Rodriguez, A.M., O'Connell, J.F., 2018. Can low-cost long-haul carriers replace charter airlines in the long-haul market? A European perspective. Tourism Economics, 24 (1), 64–78.

Saayman Melville, Li G, Uysal Muzaffer, Song Haiyan (2018) Tourist satisfaction and subjective well-being: An index approach, International Journal of Tourism Research 20 (3) pp. 388-399. DOI: 10.1002/jtr.2190.

Song, H., Altinay, L., Sun, T. and Wang, X.L. (2018). The influence of social interactions on senior customers’ experience and loneliness, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol.30, No.8, p2773-2790.

Van der Rest, J.P., Roper, A. and Wang, X.L. (2018) Why is a Change of Room Rate Pricing Policy so Hard to Implement? International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 69, p30-40.

Vijaykumaran R, Eves A & Lumbers M (2018) Understanding Patients’ Meal Experiences through Staff’s Role: Study on Malaysian Public Hospitals. Hospital Practices and Research 3 (2) 50 - 58.

Vladimirov Zhelyu, Williams Allan (2018) Hotel innovations and performance? the mediating role of staff related innovations, Tourism Management Perspectives Elsevier.

Volchek, K., A. Liu, H. Song & D. Buhalis (2018). Forecasting tourist arrivals at attractions: Search engine empowered methodologies, Tourism Economics, DOI:10.1177/1354816618811558.

Wang C, Xu H, Li G (2018) The corporate philanthropy and legitimacy strategy of tourism firms: a community perspective, Journal of Sustainable Tourism pp. 1-18 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2018.1428334.

Wang Caiping, Xu Honggang, Li G, Chen Jason Li (2018) Community social responsibility and the performance of small tourism enterprises: Moderating effects of entrepreneurs' demographics, International Journal of Tourism Research 20 (6) pp. 685-697.DOI: 10.1002/jtr.2216.

Wang Caiping, Li G, Xu Honggang (2018) Impact of lifestyle-oriented motivation on small tourism enterprises? social responsibility and performance in historic towns, Journal of Travel Research.

Weidenfeld Adi, Björk Peter, Williams Allan (2018) Identifying Cultural and Cognitive Proximity Between Managers and Customers in Tornio and Haparanda Cross-Border Region, Journal of Borderlands Studies Taylor & Francis.

Wu, D. C., Liu, J., Song, H., A. Liu., & Fu, H. (2018). Developing a Web-based regional tourism satellite account (TSA) information system. Tourism Economics, DOI: 10.1177/1354816618792446.

Xavier Font, Rosa English & Alkmini Gkritzali (2018) Mainstreaming sustainable tourism with user-centred design, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26 (10), 1651-1667, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2018.1491981.

Xu, S. & Martinez, L. R. (2018). Applications of latent growth curve modelling: A research agenda for hospitality management. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30, 3268-3286.

Xu, S., Martinez, L. R., Van Hoof, H., Estrella, M., Maldonado, G., & Gavilanes, J. (2018). Emotional exhaustion among hotel employees: The interactive effects of affect dispositions and positive work reflection. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(3), 285-295.

Xu, S., Martinez, L. R., & Van Hoof, H. (2018). The Use of Latent Growth Curve Modeling in Measuring Student Perceptions about Mandatory Work Experiences. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 30(4), 241-249.

Xu, S., Van Hoof, H., & Nyheim, P. (2018). The Effect of Online Scheduling on Employees’ Quality of Life. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 21, 172-186.

Xu, S., Martinez, L. R., Van Hoof, H., Tews, M. J., Torres, L., & Farfan, K. (2018). The impact of abusive supervision and coworker support on hospitality and tourism student employees’ turnover intentions in Ecuador. Current Issues in Tourism, 21, 775-790.

Gender, Entrepreneurship and Social Policy Institute (GESPi)

The Gender, Entrepreneurship and Social Policy Institute aims to influence policy and social change for inclusive development in the tourism, hospitality and service-related sectors by creating networks and pathways for knowledge exchange between stakeholders.

Find out more

Partners

We have strong collaborations with world-leading institutions in tourism research, and also collaborate with governments, businesses and tourism organisations nationally and globally. We would like to collaborate with other leading research institutions and build strong links with national and international organisations and industry partners to generate wider research impact beyond academia.

Upcoming events

We don’t currently have any upcoming events. Check back soon for further announcements.

Recent events

Webinar Tourism and Hospitality Forecasting in Turbulent Times

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

21:30-23:00 (Beijing, GMT+8) | 14:30-16:00 (London, BST) | 9:30-11:00 (New York, GMT-4)

Co-organized by:

Tourism and Hospitality Section, International Institute of Forecasters
Centre for Competitiveness of the Visitor Economy, University of Surrey

Opening Speeches by:

Prof Doris Chenguang Wu, Sun Yat-sen University (China)
Prof Gang Li, University of Surrey (UK)

Speech 1：Forecasting tourism demand amid COVID-19 by:

Prof Haiyan Song, The Hong Polytechnic University

Speech 2: The hotel demand forecast under critical situations by:

Jesse Zhao, Senior Regional Director of Finance of Hilton China

Speech 3：Judgementally adjusted model-based forecasts of visitor arrivals during COVID-19 by:

Prof Andrea Saayman, North-West University (NWU), South Africa

Speech 4: Diverse recovery of the global hotel industry by:

Steve Hood, Senior Vice President of Research for the SHARE
Center, STR

Speech 5: Timing matters: Crisis severity and occupancy rate forecasts in social unrest periods by:

Anyu Liu, Senior Lecturer, University of Surrey

Moderator: Ulrich Gunter, Associate Professor MODUL University of Vienna

Watch the full webinar

Past events

IATE Research Webinar: Tourism Forecasting Competition amid COVID-19

Thursday, 29April 2021

09:00am (UK) which corresponds to 4:00am (New York); 5:00am (Argentina); 10:00am (France/Italy/France); 4:00pm (Hong Kong); 6:00pm (in Sydney); 8:00pm (NZ/Fiji)

Organized by:

The International Association for Tourism Economics (IATE)

Supported by:

Centre for Competitiveness of the Visitor Economy (COVE) of the University of Surrey.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the tourism industry. When the tourist market will recover remains unknown. Accurate forecasting of the full scale of the impact on the tourism industry and market recovery is critical for strategic planning by tourist destinations and tourism-related businesses. Against this background, the Curated Collection of Annals of Tourism Research on Tourism Forecasting called for a tourism forecasting competition in July 2020. Nineteen researchers, most of them are members of the International Association for Tourism Economics (IATE) from around the world expressed interest and formed three competing teams: Asia Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Their reports on the forecasting results are published in a special collection of the Curated Collection of Tourism Demand Forecasting of the Annals of Tourism Research.

The purpose of this webinar is to disseminate the forecasting competition results with a view to encouraging further research on tourism demand forecasting during major crises. Three participating teams will present the forecasting methods used and results obtained in the forecasting completion.

Programme

Moderator: Haiyan Song, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR

09:00-09:10am: Introduction to the Tourism Forecasting Competition Exercise

Gang Li: University of Surrey, UK

09:10-09:30am: Perspective of the Africa Team

Andrea Saayman: North-West University, South Africa

Nikolaos Kourentzes: Skövde University, Sweden

09:30-09:50am: Perspective of the Asia and Pacific Team

Doris Wu: Sun Yat-sen University, China

Richard Qiu: University of Macau, Macau SAR

09:50-10:10am: Perspective of the Europe Team

Laura Vici: University of Bologna, Italy

Vicente Ramos: University of the Balearic Islands, Spain

10:10-10:30am: Q&A

Watch the full webinar

The future of destinations online forum

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to have devastating impacts on destinations, governments and destinations have taken action to restore and invigorate the sector. This seminar drawing upon industry and academic insights aimed to consider what the impacts of the pandemic have been and how destinations are able to reposition visitor experiences during times of continued uncertainty whilst planning for the future.

Our panel of distinguished industry speakers included:

Susan Deer, Director of Industry Relations, ABTA
Richard Veal, MD, SimpleView
Will Wright, co-founder, Destination Core

Our panel of Surrey academic speakers included:

Yoo Ri Kim
Brigitte Stangl
Husna Zainal Abidin

WomENt Webinar “Women’s journeys through entrepreneurship in the tourism and hospitality industry”

This webinar was hosted by the EU-funded project WomENt (www.woment2020.eu) and the University of Surrey’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management: specifically our Centre for Competitiveness of the Visitor Economy (COVE) and the Centre for Sustainability and Wellbeing in the Visitor Economy (SWELL). This brought together academics and entrepreneurs from the tourism industry to discuss the changing and increasingly pressing gender and entrepreneurship research agenda:

Setting the scene: Women and Entrepreneurship in Tourism. Dr Cristina Figueroa Domecq. University of Surrey.
Female entrepreneurship in the COVID-19 era. Alessandra Alonso. Founder & CEO. Women in Travel.
Women, technology and entrepreneurship. Patricia Gonzalez. Founder and CEO. Alterhome.
Re-evaluating the benefits of women's entrepreneurship: Is it time to reconsider? Prof. Susan Marlow. University of Nottingham.
A Feminist Research Agenda in Tourism. Dr Ana Maria Munar. Copenhagen Business School.
MODERATED by Prof. Allan Williams. Chair of Tourism and Mobility Studies. University of Surrey.

Webinar Tourism Recovery and Competitiveness: Surrey Perspectives

Our Centre hosted on Friday 11th September 2020 the Webinar: “Tourism Recovery and Competitiveness: Surrey Perspectives”, to share with international academics and students our research on the impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality and tourism sector and possible pathways to tourism recovery. The topics covered included:

Tourism intentions, risk and uncertainty
Impact of fiscal policy on tourism productivity and recovery
Impacts on hospitality workforce: Resilience and recovery
Impact on air transport passenger markets: Evidence from the Chinese market

Watch the COVE webinar in full.

See the news covering the event

Webinar Secondary data collection and analysis in tourism research

Our Centre jointly organised the above webinar with the U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research at Temple University and on the 4 August. Four internationally-recognised scholars:

Dr Yang Yang from Temple University
Dr Frankie O’Connell from the University of Surrey
Prof Nicolas Peypoch from the University of Perpignan
Dr Bozana Zekan from Modul University Vienna

Shared their research experiences with over 230 attendees on Zoom. The webinar was broadcasted live on YouTube as well. It was co-moderated by Prof Gang Li, Director of CoVE and Prof Robert Li from Temple University.

The recorded webinar video and presentation slides of the speakers are available from Temple University’s U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research’s website: under 'past events.'