Elephant Welfare in Global Tourism

Eric Laws has an MPhil from the University of Surrey and a PhD from Griffith University. He has retired from full time academic life, and is Visiting Professor at Leshan Normal University, Sichuan, P.R. China. His research interests include tourism service quality, destination management, crisis management and elephant tourism. Eric's publications include nearly 100 journal articles, book chapters and conference papers. The Elephant Tourism Business is Eric's twentieth authored or edited book.

David W. Knight is a Center for Collaborative Conservation Fellow and Co-Director of the US-China Lab for Destination Development at Colorado State University. His international multi-disciplinary research on tourism-linked empowerment, poverty alleviation, and destination resilience informs tourism and conservation planning associated with national parks, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage sites, rural regeneration, Chinese tourist behaviour and marine protected areas.

Timothy Lee is a professor and the Vice Dean at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Macao. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Tourism Research, which is listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) Q1 and A in the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC). He has published more than 350 research articles in academic journals, books and conference proceedings (including 130 in SSCI-indexed journals, and 120 in A*- or A-ranked journals in the ABDC). He has also hosted many international academic conferences in different countries as the chief organizer. His research interests include medical/wellness/health tourism, food tourism, cultural heritage tourism, and tourism development that incorporates local values. His personal website is: www.proftimothylee.org (accessed 4 March 2025).

Kom Campiranon completed his PhD in tourism management from the University of Queensland, Australia. Currently, he is an associate professor in the Service Innovation programme at Thammasat University, Thailand. His research and teaching interests cover areas in tourism crisis, hotel management, hospitality innovation, travel technologies, service design and service quality management. Dr Kom has published internationally in peer-reviewed journals, books and conference proceedings. In addition, he also served on the editorial board for several international journals.

Bongkosh Rittichainuwat is director of hotel and tourism management at Siam University, Thailand, where she was the former dean of the International College. Dr Rittichainuwat is secretary of the Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (APac-CHRIE) where she served as the director of research (two terms) and director of marketing. She received her bachelor's degree (BA) from Chulalongkorn University, her master's degree in hospitality management from Conrad N. Hilton College, University of Houston, and her PhD in hospitality administration from Oklahoma State University. Her industry designations include an exhibition management degree from the UFI University of Cooperative Education in Ravensburg, Germany, the designation Certified Incentive Specialist (CIS) from the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, and the designation Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events.

Ann Suwaree Ashton is an associate professor. Ann holds a PhD and Master's degree from the University of Queensland, Australia. She is currently a faculty member at the Graduate School of Tourism Management (GSTM) at the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) in Bangkok, Thailand. With extensive experience in the hotel industry, Dr Ashton has also gained valuable teaching experience at universities in Australia and New Zealand. Her research expertise encompasses wellness tourism development, and her passion for health and well-being has driven her to pursue extensive knowledge, becoming a certified yoga master instructor, sound healing therapist and forest bathing therapist which highlights her commitment to promoting wellness tourism activities. She is also deeply interested in elephant tourism and is dedicated to advancing sustainable development goals related to elephant well-being.

John Koldowski As a Professor and Foreign Expert within the School of Tourism at Leshan Normal University (LSNU), John continues in his role as a researcher and educator across a number of research areas, including the responsible and sustainable development of mountain-area tourism, rural tourism development and the development of metrics for the better measurement of the impact of tourism in fragile areas and on the intangible assets of tourism. Prior to joining LSNU, John was with the College of Innovation at Thailand's Thammasat University, and a founding member of the Tourism Action Group (TAG) at the same institution. He was also part of the Secretariat for the PATA Thailand Chapter for a number of years, while living and working in Thailand. Before entering academia, Mr. Koldowski was Deputy CEO of PATA where over a fifteen-year span he came to be regarded as one of the travel and tourism sector's leading analysts. He still maintains his relationship with PATA through his appointment as a special advisor to the CEO.

Melody Zhirui Zhou is a PhD candidate in tourism management and a research assistant to Professor Timothy Lee at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). Her research spans sustainable tourism, cultural heritage, wellness tourism innovation and wildlife tourism ethics, with a particular focus on animal welfare. She has published in leading Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)-indexed journals such as Tourism Review, and serves as a reviewer for the SSCI Q1 journal International Journal of Tourism Research. Actively participating in international conferences, Melody is recognized for her interdisciplinary scholarship, growing influence and dedication to advancing research in the field.