Professor Brian King is Associate Dean and Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has been involved in tourism for over 30 years and was previously at Victoria University, Australia including as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Industry & Community) and Head of the School of Hospitality, Tourism & Marketing. At Victoria University, he spent three years leading an institution-wide transformation process which received a President’s Recognition for Excellence Award.

Originally from Scotland, he has research expertise in tourism marketing with an emphasis on cultural dimensions and emerging Asia-Pacific markets, particularly China. He has written or edited several books on tourism marketing, resorts, VFR travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific Region. He is founder and joint editor-in-chief of the journal Tourism, Culture and Communication. He has held visiting professorships in Italy, Fiji and the USA and is currently Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland, UK. He has advised international agencies on tourism human resource development and marketing. He is committed to strengthening relationships between the tourism industry and education and is Chair of the Academic Board at the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, part of the worldwide Laureate education group. His industry experience includes manager and/or director roles in airlines (Qantas), tour operations (Wigwam International), destination management (Destination Melbourne), cruise operations (Ocean Spirit Cruises) and hotels (Tourism & Leisure Corporation). He is a Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism (IAST) and of the Council of Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE). He is chair of assessment and accreditation at the International Centre of Excellence for Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE). In addition to his academic interests he plays in a classical orchestra, has a long-standing enthusiasm for European languages and has started learning Cantonese.