Overview
Background
Associate Professor Jie Wang is a scholar in disaster resilience, risk management and inclusive communication, with a particular focus on how humans perceive and act in relation to risk, crisis and disaster, with the aim of understanding how behaviour changes can improve the resilience of people, organisations and destinations. She co‑leads the Security and Resilience Research Hub at UQ Business School and was the Co‑Director of the DFAT‑funded Australia–Indonesia Business ResilienceHub, working closely with governments, councils and industry partners in Australia and the Asia‑Pacific.
Research expertise and excellence Her research examines risk perception, preparedness behaviours, crisis communication and resilience planning, with applications across disaster‑prone communities, tourism and small businesses. She has led or contributed to more than $500,000 in competitive and industry‑funded grants and published extensively in leading journals such as Tourism Management and Annals of Tourism Research. Her work has received multiple national and international awards, including recognition from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and Emerald Publishing, as well as the UQ Business School Early Career Researcher Excellence Award in Research.
Her research also advances accessible and inclusive travel for people with disabilities and older adults, with a focus on building destination accessibility readiness, designing disability‑inclusive communication and marketing, and developing accessibility‑aware digital and algorithmic systems to enable equitable participation in tourism.
Teaching and HDR supervision Dr Wang is an award‑winning educator recognised for excellence in work‑integrated learning, employability and graduate research supervision. She supervises PhD, MPhil and Honours students across disaster resilience, inclusive innovation and risk communication, and was awarded the UQ BEL Faculty Award for Excellence in HDR Supervision (2023), UQ BEL Faculty Award for Excellence in Education (2018, 2025), a Commendation for UQ Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2019), UQ Business School Teaching and Learning Awards (2024) in Work-integrated-Learning and Employability. In 2026, she is working with faculty champions across multiple disciplines to co‑design neuroinclusive curriculum, assessment and pedagogy, grounded in the lived experiences of neurodivergent students.
She is strongly committed to mentoring the next generation of researchers and translating her teaching and research into meaningful real‑world impact.
Availability
- Dr Jie Wang is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Journalism, Wuhan University
- Bachelor of Tourism Management, Wuhan University
- Masters (Research), University of Canberra
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Minimising Travel‑Related Risks and Health Threats
Dr Wang’s research focuses on reducing travel‑related risks, including physical injury, health threats, digital privacy and safety concerns. She examines how travellers perceive and respond to risk, with particular attention to emotion, social norms and cultural context. Her work strengthens risk and health communication strategies, empowering travellers and destinations to support safer decision‑making and more confident, informed travel behaviour.
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Enhancing Accessible and Inclusive Tourism
Dr Wang is a strong advocate for accessible and inclusive tourism that meets the needs of people with disabilities, carers, families and older travellers. Her research addresses structural and informational barriers to participation, advancing disability‑inclusive destination readiness, universal design and equitable access. She works closely with industry and policy stakeholders to translate evidence into inclusive practices that support dignity, independence and meaningful travel for all.
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Building Business Disaster Resilience and Crisis Preparedness
Dr Wang’s research strengthens organisational resilience by examining how businesses prepare for, respond to and recover from crises and disasters. She explores psychological, organisational and contextual drivers of preparedness, including leadership, culture, learning, digital adoption and social capital. Her ongoing work advances the Onion Model for Strategic Crisis Planning, providing practical guidance for resilient, adaptive organisations operating under uncertainty.
Research impacts
Associate Professor Jie Wang’s research delivers practical, measurable benefits for communities, governments and industry, particularly in disaster resilience, inclusive tourism and crisis communication. Her work supports evidence‑based decision‑making and capacity building in disaster‑prone and socially diverse contexts across Australia and the Asia‑Pacific.
Her research has directly informed policy, practice and training through commissioned projects and partnerships with local councils, Queensland Government agencies, DFAT, APEC and international universities. For example, her work on business and destination resilience has been applied in post‑disaster recovery planning, SME capability‑building programs, and industry guidance reports used by government and practitioners. Her crisis communication research has shaped inclusive messaging strategies to improve preparedness and protective behaviours among vulnerable populations.
A key impact area of her work is accessible and inclusive travel, where she has advanced disability‑inclusive destination readiness, accessibility‑aware digital systems, and inclusive crisis communication. These projects have contributed to improved accessibility practices, raised industry awareness, and supported more equitable participation of people with disabilities and older adults in tourism and mobility.
She actively translates research into toolkits, policy reports, training workshops and stakeholder briefings, ensuring findings are usable beyond academia.
She is strongly committed to mentoring the next generation of researchers and translating her teaching and research into meaningful real‑world impact.
Works
Search Professor Jie Wang’s works on UQ eSpace
2010
Journal Article
Evaluating undergraduate courses in tourism management: A comparison between Australia and China
Wang, J, Huyton, J, Gao, XC and Ayres, H (2010). Evaluating undergraduate courses in tourism management: A comparison between Australia and China. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sports and Tourism Education, 9 (2), 46-62. doi: 10.3794/johlste.92.258
2010
Journal Article
A theoretical model for strategic crisis planning: Factors influencing crisis planning in the hotel industry
Wang, Jie and Ritchie, Brent (2010). A theoretical model for strategic crisis planning: Factors influencing crisis planning in the hotel industry. International Journal of Tourism Policy, 3 (4), 297-317. doi: 10.1504/IJTP.2010.040390
2010
Journal Article
Is tourism education meeting the needs of the tourism industry? An Australian case study
Wang, Jie, Ayres, Helen and Huyton, Jeremy (2010). Is tourism education meeting the needs of the tourism industry? An Australian case study. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, 22 (1), 8-14. doi: 10.1080/10963758.2010.10696964
2009
Journal Article
Job Ready Graduates: A Tourism Industry Perspective
Wang, J., Ayres, H. and Huyton, J. (2009). Job Ready Graduates: A Tourism Industry Perspective. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 16 (1), 62-72. doi: 10.1375/jhtm.16.1.62
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Jie Wang is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Available projects
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Advanced Tourism Risk Management and Safer Travel Futures
These projects investigate how travellers perceive, interpret and respond to travel‑related risks, including health, safety, privacy and disaster risks across tourism, hospitality and event contexts. Research explores the roles of risk perception, emotion, identity, values and social norms in shaping behaviour and decision‑making. Projects aim to advance theory and practice in risk and health communication, enabling destinations and organisations to support safer, more resilient and more confident travel experiences.
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Travel Accessibility, Inclusion and Disability‑Led Innovation
This research stream focuses on advancing equity, diversity and inclusion through accessible and inclusive travel design. Projects examine inclusive risk management and travel experiences for people with disabilities, carers and older adults, with attention to mobility, vision and intellectual impairments. Key themes include universal and inclusive design, digital accessibility, sensory and empathy‑based evaluation, compliance and policy translation, and co‑design approaches that centre lived experience to improve safety, dignity and participation.
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Disaster Resilience and Crisis Preparedness
These projects examine how organisations and communities build resilience before, during and after disasters. Research focuses on capability building for proactive planning, effective crisis response and adaptive recovery, with particular attention to innovation, social capital, technology and social media, positive psychology, and inclusion of vulnerable groups. Projects contribute to evidence‑based frameworks that support resilient, future‑ready organisations and communities operating under uncertainty and increasing climate and hazard risk.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the Relationship between Destination Image and Young Tourists' Risk-taking: Considering Roles of Psycho-social Factors
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Laura Ferris, Professor Gabby Walters
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Doctor Philosophy
Disability-led Innovation and Assistive Technology: Redefining Accessibility in the Global Hospitality Industry
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Josephine Previte
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Doctor Philosophy
Balancing Romance and Risk: The Role of Anticipated Emotions in Female Tourists' Online Self-Disclosure Behaviour
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Pierre Benckendorff
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Social networks and resilience to external shocks of tourism-hospitality small and medium enterprises
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Brent Ritchie
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Being there without being there: Exploring technology affordances in travel live streaming
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Pierre Benckendorff
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Essays in environmentally sustainable tourist behaviour
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sara Dolnicar
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding Non-compliance in National Parks: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Brent Ritchie
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Jie Wang directly for media enquiries about:
- Accessible tourism
- Crisis management
- disability-inclusion
- Disaster resilience
- People with disability
- Risk communication
- Travel safety
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