Associate Professor · Texas A&M University
Jinyang Deng.
I study how public lands — forests, parks, rural regions — create value for the communities around them: rural tourism, ecotourism, the recreation economy. Thirty-six years of fieldwork across China, Australia, Canada and the United States.
- Editorial
- Associate Editor, Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism and the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration
- Funded by
- USDA NIFA · USDA Agricultural Research Service · Appalachian Regional Commission · USDA Forest Service · Texas A&M University
- Published in
- Annals of Tourism Research · Tourism Management · Journal of Travel Research · Journal of Sustainable Tourism · Leisure Sciences, among others
Citations per Google Scholar, retrieved Aug 2026 · funding as published on the department profile
Research
Projects & background →Rural tourism
Stakeholder attitudes, social capital, and what tourism development actually returns to the communities that host it.
Ecotourism
Who counts as an ecotourist, and how ecotourism destinations are identified, classified and evaluated.
Tourism planning
Indicator systems, importance–performance analysis, and destination competitiveness assessment.
Recreation economy
Visitor spending, economic impact, and market segmentation across public lands and national forests.
Urban forests
Recreational use of urban forests, and their weight among a city’s other visitor attractions.
GIS & spatial analysis
Suitability modelling, recreation opportunity spectrum mapping, and nighttime lights data as a measure of human presence.
Currently AI, augmented reality and digital twins — restaurant nutritional labelling (M2M, USDA ARS) and tourism-intelligence digital twins for rural development (TIES). Details →
Selected work
All 113 publications →-
Resource-based destination competitiveness evaluation using a hybrid analytic hierarchy process (AHP): The case study of West Virginia170citations
Y Zhou, K Maumbe, J Deng, SW Selin · Tourism Management Perspectives 15, 72-80, 2015
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Identifying and mapping forest-based ecotourism areas in West Virginia–Incorporating visitors' preferences157citations
I Dhami, J Deng, RC Burns, C Pierskalla · Tourism management 42, 165-176, 2014
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Rethinking language fluency: The role of mindset and authenticity in how poor communication enhances service evaluations in hospitality settings—
J Kim, J Jhang, EHL Jeong, J Deng · International Journal of Hospitality Management 135, 104594, 2026
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Bridging Technology and Nutrition: A Systematic Review of AI and XR Applications for Nutritional Insights in Restaurants and Foodservice Operations—
Y Bordbar, J Deng, B King, H Lee, W Zhang · Nutrients 18 (9), 1364, 2026
Career
- 1990M.S. thesis on the economic benefits of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park — the first national forest park in China.
- Ph.D.Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Alberta. GIS training at the University of Calgary and NAIT.
- 2008Chen Chuankang Outstanding Paper Award in Tourism Geography.
- 2018–19Professor at West Virginia University; program coordinator for the period.
- 2021Outstanding Faculty in Research, WVU Division of Forestry and Natural Resources.
- NowAssociate Professor, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism, Texas A&M University.
Contact
Room 409M · 2261 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843
Enquiries from prospective graduate students are welcome.