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K-State Today

May 20, 2016

Double winnings: Hospitality Management assistant professor wins best paper honors at two conferences

Submitted by Anne Rubash

April 22 was a serendipitous date for Kristin Malek, assistant professor of hospitality management in the College of Human Ecology. Malek was notified that two of her co-authored papers had won best paper honors, one at a conference in Olathe, and the other at a conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Korea America Hospitality and Tourism Educators Association conference was April 21-22 in Las Vegas. Malek and co-authors Shinyong Jung, Yensoon Kim and Woojin Lee submitted a paper titled "'Attendees' attitudes and intentions to participate in environmental sustainability practices in trade shows." Jung, doctoral student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, presented the paper that captured trade show attendees' perceptions of the sustainable practices of top trade shows and their willingness to participate.

Malek and co-author Woohyuk Kim, first year doctoral student at K-State, presented the paper "Effects of self-congruity and destination image on destination loyalty: The moderating role of perceived cultural difference" at the Central Federation Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators Conference in Olathe, April 22-23. The paper detailed how people perceive themselves and then choose tourism destinations that reinforce those self-perceptions.