Li Yang

Photo of Li Yang
Li Yang
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Associate Professor
Office: 
(269) 387-3414
Fax: 
(269) 387-3442
Location: 
3519 Wood Hall, Mail Stop 5424
Mailing address: 
School of Environment, Geography, and Sustainability
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5424 USA
Education: 
  • Ph.D., Planning, University of Waterloo, 2007
  • M.S., Statistics, Yunnan University, 1997
  • B.S., Statistics, Yunnan University, 1994
Teaching interests: 
  • Tourism Planning and Development
  • Tourism Geography
  • Human Geography
  • Urban, Regional, and Environmental Planning
Research interests: 
  • Tourism Planning and Marketing
  • Ethnic and Cultural Tourism
  • Tourism Analysis and Forecasting
Bio: 

Dr. Li Yang is an active researcher in the field of travel and tourism. Her research career has focused on tourism planning and development issues with an emphasis on ethnic tourism. Subjects have ranged from analysis of tourism impacts, destination planning and related socio-cultural issues, and tourism demand management, to rural tourism examination. She has been involved in many research projects and has obtained university and governmental grants and awards. She has published over 40 refereed articles in leading international tourism and geography journals. She has also served on the editorial board for the International Journal of Tourism Anthropology and has been invited to serve as an expert reviewer for numerous well-respected academic journals. Dr. Yang enjoys teaching and mentoring students, and considers both important components of her career. Her goal as a teacher is to provide students with a solid understanding of fundamental theories and concepts complemented by independent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. She encourages students to learn through hands-on experience with laboratory exercises, field data collection, independent and group research projects. She has taught and developed new teaching materials and pedagogy for five major tourism courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at WMU.