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Phone: 765-494-8215

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Marriott Hall 263
900 West State St

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Liping Cai

Professor, White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Director of Purdue Tourism and Hospitality Research Center

Areas of Expertise

  • Rural tourism and quality of life
  • Tourism and destination branding
  • Hospitality principles and intercultural learning
  • Emerging travel markets and trends
  • International travel management and operations

HHS Signature Research Area(s)

  • Healthy Lifestyles and Vital Longevity
  • Sustainable Organizations and Thriving Communities

Biography

Professor Liping A. Cai is an American Council on Education Fellow (2013-14) and has been in the academia since 1993. He studies consumers in tourism and hospitality and has authored or co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles including 20 best paper awards received with his doctoral students. He pioneered the Cooperative Branding Model for Rural Destinations and currently leads research teams on branding, rural tourism, and emerging markets. Professor Cai’s research team consists of Fulbright and other international scholars. He is a series and volume editor of the book series Bridging Tourism Theories and Practices and a referee for peer-reviewed journals. Professor Cai received Purdue University’s designation of University Faculty Scholar in 2003, the Four-Year University and College Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE) in 2009, and Career Research Achievement Award from Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences in 2024. He previously served as travel and tourism industry expert to the World Economic Forum and on the Indiana Governor’s Tourism Council between 2004 and 2020. Prior to Purdue appointment in 1999, Professor Cai was the director of the Center for Economic Development through Tourism in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics of New Mexico State University.

Education

  • PhD, 1996, Purdue University
  • MBA, 1993, Michigan State University
  • BA, 1986, Nanjing Normal University
  • AS, 1980, Nanjing Institute of Tourism & Hospitality

Websites

Current Courses

  • CSR 331 - Consumer Behavior
  • HTM 173 - Introduction to Tourism Management
  • HTM 231, 531 and 631 - Marketing
  • HTM 372 - Global Tourism Geography
  • HTM 390 - Undergraduate Special Projects
  • HTM 398 - International Special Topics
  • HTM 399 - Special Topics in HTM
  • HTM 690 - Hospitality and Tourism Research Problems
  • HTM 699 - Research PhD Thesis

Selected Publications

  • Cai, L. (2002). Cooperative branding for rural destinations. Annals of Tourism Research, 29(3): 720-742. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(01)00080-9
  • Zhang, H., Fu, X., Cai, L., & Lu, L. (2014). Destination image and tourist loyalty: a meta-analysis, Tourism Management, 40:213-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2013.06.006
  • Cai, L. & Wang, S. (2018). US Tourists’ perceptions of destination China over two transformative periods, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 23(3): 217-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2017.1421567
  • Cai, L., Wang, S., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Vacation travel, marital satisfaction, and subjective wellbeing: a Chinese perspective. Journal of China Tourism Research, 16(1), 118-139. https://dor.org/10.1080/19388160.2019.1575304
  • Qiu, S. & Cai, L. (2021). A framework of tourist behavioral investment and application to small city tourism marketing, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 26(2): 81-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2020.1762684
  • Qiu, S., Cai, L., Ding, Y., Li, S., Chen, Z., & Lin, B. (2023). Modeling cross-cultural gender role in tourist self-presentation. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 56, 367-375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2023.07.014
  • Davari, D., Alaedini, P., & Cai, L. (2024). Conceptualizing destination-community hospitality: An illustrated framework leveraging Persianate culture. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 36(7), 2327-2346. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2023-0179
  • Chen, Q., & Cai, L. A. (2025). Self-fulfilling prophecy in livelihood sustainability: Rural tourism in Pingqian Village, China. Tourism Management, 106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2024.104988
  • Chen, Q., Cai, L., & Chen, J. (2025). Collaborative governance for rural tourism in a centralized state: a tale of two villages in China. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 63:329-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2025.05.007
  • Chen, J., Jung, S., & Cai, L. (2025). A critical review of technology-facilitated event engagement: current landscape and pathway forward. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 37(13), 169-189. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2025-0236

Selected Honors/Awards

  • Distinguished Alumni Award, The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University - 2002
  • University Faculty Scholar, Purdue University - 2003
  • Innovative Program Award. Purdue University Office of International Programs - 2009
  • Four-Year University and College Lifetime Achievement Award, International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators - 2009
  • American Council on Education Fellow (2013-14), American Council on Education - 2014
  • Career Research Achievement Award, Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciencesn - 2024

Professional Affiliations

  • International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators
  • Destination Grants Review Committee, State of Indiana

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