Hospitality Management Student Wins Award for Travel Research

May 4, 2022

Linh “Lilly” Nguyen, a senior in the Fast Track Pathway Program for B.S. Hospitality Management/M.S. International Hospitality Management, was awarded “Best Theoretical Paper” at the 2022 THEREPS (Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Conference for Researchers, Educators, Practitioners, and Students) Conference held on April 15–16 in Philadelphia, PA.

Her research project, “Antecedents of Travel Styles in the Pandemic Era: Staycation vs. Digital Nomad Travel,” investigated the impact of young travelers’ personalities and fear perception of COVID-19 on choosing either staycation or digital nomad travel. Digital nomads, who are people who earn a living working online in various locations of their choosing, have been increasing as the pandemic has showed us that one fixed business location is no longer necessary to be productive. During the pandemic, staycations, where people stay close to home and take day trips to local attractions, became very popular.

“This experience has made me get out of my comfort zone so I could learn from other professionals and researchers,” Lilly said. “The connection between personality and travel style is a topic in which I have much interest, so I was happy to do the research. I’m grateful for this opportunity, as well as the support from my advisor, Seunghyun ‘Brian’ Park, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Administration and Economics, throughout this journey.”

The THEREPS conference is hosted by the Korea-America Hospitality & Tourism Educators Association and was held in person this year for the first time since the pandemic.