Mark A. Bonn, Ph.D., received his Doctorate in Resource Development from Texas A&M University in 1982. His area of expertise is Tourism Marketing and Research. Dr. Bonn is the Dedman Professor in Services Management, endowed by the late Robert H. Dedman, founder of ClubCorp, in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Bonn serves on many editorial boards and reviews for the most scholarly academic journals in the field of tourism and hospitality including The Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Tourism Analysis, FIU Review, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and the Cornell Quarterly.
Dr. Bonn is also President & CEO for the Bonn Marketing Research Group, Inc., and has conducted strategic tourism marketing and economic development research for over 30 Florida county government offices and numerous Florida Tourism Development Councils. His client list includes the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Water Management Districts, Florida Department of Health, American Hotel Foundation, Small Business Administration, Visit Tampa Bay, Visit Tallahassee, Florida Sports Foundation, United States Army, United Nations, and many Governments such as Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Martin, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Venezuela.
Some of Dr. Bonn’s more recent projects involved determining the economic value Major League Baseball Spring Training has upon Florida’s economy, which was documented at over $750 million. He was the first scholar to explore and document the value that Florida’s Artificial and Natural Reefs have upon the economy. His research findings regarding the importance natural springs have upon Florida tourism led to state-wide initiatives for protecting and promoting these valuable, fragile and rare natural resources.
In August, 2008, Dr. Bonn was inducted into the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame by the Florida Commission on Tourism. He remains the only academic scholar, researcher and educator to have ever achieved this historic honor.