Areas of Expertise

Tourism Marketing; Travel Behavior; Tourists Wellbeing; Food Tourism 

Teaching Interests

Tourism Marketing; Business of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management; Global issues in Tourism

Research

Dr. Wang’s research interests focus on applying digital approaches, psychological principles and neuroscience methods to understand consumer behaviors and psychophysiological effects of travel, enhancing hospitality and tourism marketing and individual well-being.

Representative Publications

Wang, X., & Petrick, J. F. (2025). Understanding Traveler Behavior Before, During, and Post COVID‐19. International Journal of Tourism Research, 27(5), e70137.

Petrick, J. F., & Wang, X. (2025). The psychophysiological effects of travel: a horizon 2050 paper. Tourism Review, 80(1), 121-138.

Wang, X., Stienmetz, J., & Petrick, J. F. (2024). The Influence of Design and Arousal on Impulse Purchase in Mobile Travel Applications. Tourism Review International, 28(1), 15-33.

Education

PhD in Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism, Texas A&M University, 2021 - 2025
MS in International Tourism Management, University of Surrey, 2018 - 2019
BS in Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, 2013 – 2017

Previous Appointments

Postdoctoral Research Follow, The Hong Kong Polytechnical University, 2025 – 2026
Instructor of Record, Texas A&M University, 2024 – 2025

Professional Associations

Travel and Tourism Research Association