A former hotel manager and tourism industry consultant, Professor Kaye Chon (Ph.D., CHE, FIH) is Dean and Chair Professor and Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Under Dean Chon’s leadership, the School has arisen as one of the world’s leading institutions in hospitality and tourism management. The School is rated No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality and Tourism Management” category according to ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2017 and 2018, placed No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism” subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017, and ranked among the top 3 “Hospitality and Leisure Management” institutions globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 and 2018.

Dean Chon previously held academic positions at the University of Houston, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Virginia Tech in the US.

Dean Chon is a graduate of the University of Maryland (AA), Georgia State University (BSc), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (MSc), and Virginia Tech (Ph.D.).

A frequent speaker at international conferences, Dean Chon has published over 200 papers in international journals and professional publications and has authored or edited ten books. One of his co-authored books, Welcome to Hospitality: An Introduction has been adopted as a textbook in more than 100 hospitality education programmes world-wide. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing and the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research.

In his university teaching that spans over 30 years, Dean Chon twice received “Teaching Excellence Award” and four times received “Research Excellence Award,” including the John Wiley & Sons Lifetime Research Award and Howard B. Meek Award from International CHRIE, Martin Oppermann Memorial Award from the International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators (ISTTE), Michael D. Olsen Award from the University of Delaware, and Founder’s Award from Purdue University and the University of South Carolina, all for his lifetime contribution to scholarship and research in tourism/hospitality. In 2003, he received the prestigious Fred Tibbitts Associates Hospitality Humanitarian Award from Fred Tibbitts and Associates of New York for his leadership and community services in global hospitality industry development. He was twice recognised by his alma mater Georgia State University, once in 2003 as the “Most Outstanding Alumni in 30 Years”, and then in 2014 as one of the honourees of the Robinson Global Business Alumni Award. He was honoured by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) with the prestigious UNWTO Ulysses Prize 2011. In 2015, he was appointed Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management.

He has been listed in Who’s Who In The World.