Emotion Regulation Research in Tourism and Hospitality
Prof. Nan CHEN
Assistant Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Date: 24 April 2026 (Friday)
Time: 14:30-16:00
Venue: E22-1030
Host: Prof. Faye Feier CHEN, Assistant Professor in Integrated Resort and Tourism Management
Abstract
This seminar introduces a comprehensive conceptual model and an ethnographic study to advance understanding of intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation (ER) in tourism and hospitality contexts. The conceptual framework theorizes dynamic, socially embedded ER processes in service encounters. The nuanced ER processes are further explored within an extended Chinese family on a 6-day overseas trip, using longitudinal interviews, participant observation and psychophysiological measures. Findings reveal interdependent, cyclical appraisal processes, rich emotional dynamics and diverse ER strategies shaped by travel experiences and family interactions. Together, these works illuminate how emotions are generated and regulated in complex social settings.
Speaker
Prof. Nan Chen received her PhD in Tourism, Leisure, Hotel & Sport Management from Griffith University, Australia. She also holds a Master’s degree in Tourism & Hospitality Management from University of Gothenburg, Sweden, a double Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Literature, and a Master’s degree in Classical Chinese Philology. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked as an exhibition planner & coordinator in Shanghai.
Prof. Chen’s academic career includes appointments as Assistant Professor at Surrey International Institute, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics, and Senior Lecturer at University of Huddersfield, UK. She first joined the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University as a postdoctoral fellow and re-joined the school as a research fellow in 2018.
Her research focuses on event tourism and destination marketing, tourist-host relationships, leisure consumer behavior, and tourism studies from socio-psychological and psychological perspectives. Prof. Chen has secured one GRF grant as Principal Investigator and two GRF grants as Co-investigator. Her work has been published in top-tier tourism and hospitality journals, including Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research (JTR), Annals of Tourism Research (ATR), and Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research (JHTR). She serves on the editorial boards of JTR, JHTR, and ATR Empirical Insights. The paper presented in this seminar received the 2024 Best Paper of the Year Award from the JHTR.
All are welcome!
