Xinran Lehto

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

Areas of Expertise

Tourism and hospitality experience design
Destination marketing and management
Tourism planning and sustainable product development
Interface between leisure/hospitality services and technology applications
Wellness and wellbeing
Culture factors in HTM

HHS Signature Research Area(s)

Developmental Health and Wellness
Healthy Lifestyles and Vital Longevity
Sustainable Organizations and Thriving Communities

Biography

Xinran Lehto is a Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University. She is currently an associate editor of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, and serves on the editorial board of seven other international academic journals. Dr. Lehto was an assistant professor at Colorado State University prior to joining the Purdue HTM faculty. Prior to her academic appointments, Dr. Lehto spent 6 years working in the travel and tourism industry as a marketing executive in China and Singapore.

Dr. Lehto’s expertise area is experience design, management, and marketing in tourism and hospitality. Her current research stream is related to how to optimally deliver experiences and services that are conducive to consumer well-being. Her research addresses how destinations and businesses can effectively plan and market experience-based vacation products to various traveler segments. Much of her work is concerned with developing understanding of how tourists interact with a destination through leisure and hospitality experiences, and how personal, interpersonal, technological, and cultural factors influence experience design and marketing practices.

Dr. Lehto is well published in first-tier refereed international journals, including the top rated Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management and Journal of Travel Research. Dr. Lehto is the co-recipient of multiple best paper awards from various international conferences and Article of the Year awards from two refereed journals.

Dr. Lehto emphasizes the ramifications of her research to the tourism and hospitality industry. She disseminates her research in a wide variety of forums including international conferences and colloquia, refereed journal articles, technical reports, and public presentations. She has worked closely with community agencies to evaluate and develop programs and strategies related to tourism and leisure services. Dr. Lehto believes that the wellbeing of travelers and communities is the starting point for all tourism marketing and planning strategies. She considers wellness-centered tourism design to be a social responsibility and a strategic advantage for tourism destinations and businesses.

Education

PhD, 2000, Purdue University

Social Media Accounts

Current Courses

HTM231 - Hospitality and Tourism Marketing
HTM173 - Introduction to Tourism Management
HTM501 - Research Methodology in Hospitality and Tourism Management
HTM399 - Applications of Data Visualization for Marketing

Professional Affiliations

Immediate Past President, International Tourism Studies Association
Associate Editor, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research