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Dr. Yanyan Zheng

Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Department of Hospitality, Event and Tourism Management

Email: yanyan.zheng@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, University of Central Florida, 2023
    Major: Hospitality Management
    Dissertation: What I Talk About When I Talk About Yijing: A Holistic Framework of Tourists' Aesthetic Experience
  • MS, University of Central Florida, 2018
    Major: Hospitality and Tourism Management
  • MA, St. John's University, 2015
    Major: East Asian Studies

Licensures and Certifications

  • ESD Advisor Certificate, International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE). (2025 - Present).
  • Meetings and Events at Sea, Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). (2024 - Present).
  • Responsible Conduct of Research, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program). (2025 - 2029).
  • Social & Behavioral Research, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program). (2025 - 2028).

Professional Memberships

  • International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education. (February 2025 - Present).
  • Meetings Professionals International. (November 2024 - November 2025).

Development Activities

  • Workshop, Revolutionizing Education with AI: Practical Insights and Applications, UNT DSI CLEAR. Denton,TX,United States of America. (May 7, 2025).
  • Workshop, EASE : Encourage Student Success and Belonging with Accessible Course Design, UNT DSI CLEAR. Denton,TX,United States of America. (May 6, 2025).
  • Workshop, Enhance Active Student Engagement Workshop (EASE), UNT DSI CLEAR. Denton,TX,United States of America. (April 30, 2025).
  • Other (Mentoring Meeting), Mentoring Meeting, University of North Texas. Denton,TX,United States of America. (April 23, 2025).
  • Self-Study Program, AI Fundamentals, Part 1: Demystifying AI, University of North Texas. Denton,TX,United States of America. (March 2025).
  • Self-Study Program, AI Fundamentals, Part 2: How You Can Use AI, University of North Texas. Denton,TX,United States of America. (2025).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • EDEM 1600 - Introduction to Global Event Management, 1 course.
  • EDEM 3600 - Cruise Events Management, 1 course.
  • HMGT 5630 - Advanced Convention and Event Management, 1 course.

Directed Student Learning

  • Doctoral Advisory Committee Member, Information Science. (2025 - 2027).
  • Directed Individual/Independent Study, "Hotel Managers’ Perceptions of Self-Service Technology Adoption: The Case of Ghana," Hospitality, Event and Tourism Management. (September 2024 - December 2024).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Journal Article

  • Wei, W., Zhang, L., Ying, T., Zheng, Y. (2025). Pet influencer marketing appeal in hotel booking: Exploring the power of message appeal and boundary conditions. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 126 Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104094
  • Zheng, Y., Wei, W., Tasci, A.D. (2024). The aesthetic gaze of heritage sites: A framework of aesthetic experience formation. Tourism Analysis. 29 (3) 337-347. Cognizant Communication Corporation. https://doi.org/10.3727/108354224X17065734859574
  • Zheng, Y., Wei, W., Zhang, L., Ying, T. (2024). Tourist Gaze at Chinese Classical Gardens: The Embodiment of Aesthetics (Yijing) in Tourism. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. 48 (2) 353-379. SAGE Publications. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10963480221085958
  • Zhang, L., Wei, W., Rathjens, B., Zheng, Y. (2023). Pet influencers on social media: The joint effect of message appeal and narrator. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 110 103453. Elsevier BV. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103453
  • Zheng, Y., Fu, X., Li, M. (2022). Reification in tourism: An investigation of visitors’ interpretation of omamori. The Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. 24 100706. Elsevier BV. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2022.100706
  • Wei, W., Zheng, Y., Zhang, L., Line, N. (2022). Leveraging customer-to-customer interactions to create immersive and memorable theme park experiences. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights. 5 (3) 647-662. Emerald. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jhti-10-2020-0205
  • Ying, T., Tan, X., Wei, W., Zheng, Y., Ye, S., Wu, M. (2021). “I have to watch my back”: Exploring Chinese hotel guests’ generalized distrust and coping behavior. Tourism Management. 86 104355. Elsevier BV. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104355
  • Zheng, Y., Wei, W., Line, N., Zhang, L. (2021). Integrating the tourist gaze with the social servicescape: Implications for creating memorable theme park experiences. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 93 102782. Elsevier BV. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102782
  • McGinley, S., Wei, W., Zhang, L., Zheng, Y. (2021). The State of Qualitative Research in Hospitality: A 5-Year Review 2014 to 2019. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. 62 (1) 8-20. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965520940294

Presentations Given

    Oral Presentation

  • Zheng, Y. (Author), Wei, W. (Author), 2025 WEST FEDERATION CHRIE CONFERENCE, ADVANCING NETNOGRAPHY IN TOURISM RESEARCH: METHODOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, Frisco, TX, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).

    • Poster

  • Zheng, Y. (Author & Presenter), TTRA International Conference 2025, A New Way to Define Aesthetics in Tourism, Galway, Ireland. (2025 - 2025).

Service

University Service

  • Faculty Advisor, Freshman Feast & Meet: Connect with Friends, Faculty & Student Leaders. (February 26, 2025 - Present).
  • Faculty Advisor, Preview Day. (February 22, 2025 - Present).
  • Attendee, Meeting, Ben E. Keith Executive In Residence. (April 9, 2025).
  • Student Org Advisor (Professional Org), 2025 ESD Induction Ceremony. (April 3, 2025 - April 3, 2025).
  • Attendee, Graduation, Fall 2024 Commencement. (December 15, 2024 - December 15, 2024).
  • Committee Member, Retention & Recruitment committee - Student Event. (December 3, 2024 - December 3, 2024).
  • Committee Member, Retention & Recruitment committee - Birdville ISD Visit. (October 30, 2024 - October 30, 2024).
  • Student Org Advisor (Professional Org), UNT Chapter of Eta Sigma Delta (ESD) Hospitality Management Honor Society. (October 23, 2024 - October 23, 2024).
  • Other (Faculty Volunteer for CMHT Career Expo), CMHT Career Expo. (September 18, 2024 - September 18, 2024).
  • Conference-Related, Partyfest 2024. (August 28, 2024 - August 28, 2024).

Public Service

  • Other (Volunteer), Denton Community Food Center. Denton, TX. (December 4, 2024 - December 4, 2024).

Professional Service

  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. Denton, TX. (May 1, 2025 - May 18, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. Denton, TX. (May 1, 2025 - May 18, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. Denton, TX. (April 28, 2025 - May 8, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. Denton, TX. (April 25, 2025 - May 7, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Scientific Reports. Denton, TX. (April 30, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. Denton, TX. (April 15, 2025 - April 20, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. Denton, TX. (April 10, 2025 - April 20, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. Denton, TX. (March 28, 2025 - April 18, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. Denton, TX. (March 28, 2025 - April 18, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Denton, TX. (March 1, 2025 - March 23, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Scientific Reports. Denton, TX. (March 1, 2025 - March 23, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper, 2025 ICHRIE Global. Denton, TX. (March 5, 2025 - March 12, 2025).
  • Attendee, Meeting, Second Annual CMHT Next Generation Leadership Summit. Denton, TX. (February 20, 2025 - February 28, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper, 2025 ICHRIE ESD Undergraduate Research Symposium. Denton, TX. (January 31, 2025 - February 9, 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Cogent Arts & Humanities. Denton, TX. (December 2024).
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper, CHRIE - Southeastern, Central, and South America Federation. Denton, TX. (November 2024).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. Denton, TX. (November 2024).
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper, The 30th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. Denton, TX. (October 2024).