SVETLANA STEPCHENKOVA, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Ph.D in in hospitality and tourism management, Purdue University (2009)
M.S. in hospitality and tourism management, Purdue University (2005)
B.S. in applied mathematics, Moscow State University (1984)
Curriculum Vitae

Biography:

Svetlana Stepchenkova, Ph.D., has joined the University of Florida in August 2009 as an assistant professor. The area of her research interests is destination management, marketing, and branding. She is especially interested in destination image as a competitive factor in destination marketing, influence of media messages on image formation, and destination image as a factor in explaining destination choice. Quantification of media messages into data series reflecting tourists’ perceptions of the destination and using these series in the models of tourism demand is the current scope of Svetlana’s research. Svetlana also studies applications of information technologies in travel and tourism, particularly virtual travel communities and destination websites, as a means of obtaining a competitive advantage in destination marketing and management.

During her Ph.D. training, Svetlana was involved in industry-related projects that included quality evaluations of Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) websites in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in a number of grant-supported studies in the areas of digital identity management, Internet addictive behaviors, and online data security. Prior to joining the UF, Svetlana acquired more than 5 years of experience in teaching in various settings, as well as practical managerial experience in an industrial company in Russia.

Svetlana published her research in the Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, as well as CyberPsychology & Behavior and Computers in Human Behavior. She serves as a reviewer for Tourism Management and Current Issues in Tourism.

Research Interests:

• • Destination image as a competitive factor in destination management, marketing, and branding
• • Effect of media messages on tourism behavior and destination demand
• • Computer-assisted analysis of qualitative data. Methodologies for statistical analysis of textual data.
• • Websites as a marketing tool for Destination Marketing Organizations

Classes:
LEI 3836 Hospitality Management
HLP 6515 Evaluation Procedures in Health and Human Performance