Birendra KC Ph.D.

Hospitality Event and Tourism Management, Graduate Advising
Associate Professor & MIST Graduate Coordinator
Birendra KC, Ph.D.

About

Biography

Dr. Birendra KC is an Associate Professor in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of North Texas. He received his B.S. in Forestry (2008) from Tribhuvan University, M.S. in Forestry (2012) from the University of Kentucky, and Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (2015) from North Carolina State University.

Dr. KC's research focus is on Nature-Based Tourism, Policy and Planning in Sustainable Tourism, Community-Based Tourism, Tourism Entrepreneurship, and Protected Area Management. His scholarly work has been published in a wide range of peer-reviewed journals, including top-tier SSCI-Indexed hospitality and tourism journals as well as SCI and SSCI-Indexed interdisciplinary journals. His work has been presented at regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized conferences.

Dr. KC teaches Introduction to International Sustainable Tourism and Foundations of International Travel and Tourism at the undergraduate level and International Sustainable Tourism and Policy and Planning in Sustainable Tourism at the Graduate level. Dr. KC is also a Visiting and Affiliate Professor of International Sustainable Tourism for the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica, as a part of UNT's joint Master's of International Sustainable Tourism (MIST) program with CATIE.

Dr. KC advises MIST as well as Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) graduate students. Previously, Dr. KC served as a faculty representative to the We Mean Green Fund (WMGF) Committee, a prestigious sustainability organization at UNT. He serves on several department-level and college-level committees. He also serves as a reviewer for many peer-review journals.

Selected Research Publications
  • KC, B., & Leung, X. Y. (2021). Geocaching in Texas state parks: A technology readiness analysis. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-09-2020-0240
  • KC, B. (2021). Complexity in balancing conservation and tourism in protected areas: Contemporary issues and beyond. Tourism and Hospitality Research. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14673584211015807
  • KC, B., Min, J., & Serenari, C. (2021). Segmenting wildlife value orientations to mitigate human-wildlife conflict for ecotourism development in protected areas. Tourism Planning & Development. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2021.1947889
  • KC, B., Dhungana, A., & Dangi, T. B. (2021). Tourism and the sustainable development goals: Stakeholders' perspectives from Nepal. Tourism Management Perspectives, 38, 100822. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100822
  • KC, B. (2021). A comprehensive analysis of threats to UNESCO WHSs in danger. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 2(1), 100013. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annale.2021.100013
  • KC, B. (2021). Ecotourism for wildlife conservation and sustainable livelihood via community-based homestay: a formula to success or a quagmire? Current Issues in Tourism, 24(9), 1227-1243. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1772206
  • Min, J., KC, B., Kim, S., & Lee, J. (2020). The impact of disasters on a heritage tourist destination: A case study of Nepal earthquakes. Sustainability, 12(15), 6115. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156115
  • Paudyal, R., Stein, T., KC, B., & Adams, D. (2019). Effects of weather factors on recreation participation in a humid subtropical region. International Journal of Biometeorology, 63(8), 1025-1038. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-019-01715-z
  • KC, B., Morais, D. B., Smith, J. W., Peterson, M. N., & Seekamp, E.  (2019). Using social network analysis to understand trust, reciprocity, and togetherness in wildlife tourism microentrepreneurship. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 43(8), 1176-1198. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348019840794
  • Stainback, G. A., Fedler, T., Davis, S., & KC, B. (2019). Recreational fishing in Florida Bay: Economic significance and angler perspectives. Tourism in Marine Environments, 14(1-2), 89-105. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3727/154427318X15365306469746
  • KC, B., Morais, D. B., Peterson, M. N., Seekamp, E., & Smith, J. W. (2019). Social network analysis of wildlife tourism microentrepreneurial network. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 19(2), 158-169. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358417715679
  • Morais, D. B., Bunn, D., Hoogendoorn, G., & KC, B. (2018). The potential role of tourism microentrepreneurship in the prevention of rhino poaching. International Development Planning Review, 40(4), 443-461. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3828/idpr.2018.21
  • KC, B., Paudyal, R., & Neupane, S. S. (2018). Residents’ perspectives of a newly developed ecotourism project: an assessment of effectiveness through the lens of an importance-performance analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 23(6), 560-572. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2018.1467938 
  • Ghahramani, L., Khalilzadeh, J., & KC, B. (2018). Tour Guides' Communication Ecosystems: An Inferential Social Network Analysis Approach. Information Technology & Tourism, 20(1-4), 103-130. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-018-0114-y
  • KC, B., Morais, D. B., Seekamp, E., Smith, J. W., & Peterson, M. N. (2018). Bonding and Bridging Forms of Social Capital in Wildlife Tourism Microentrepreneurship: An Application of Social Network Analysis. Sustainability, 10(2), 315. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/315 
  • Diaz, J. M., Stallings, K. D., KC, B., & Seekamp, E. (2015). Evaluating multi-institutional partnership sustainability: A case study of collaborative workforce development in renewable energy assessment. Educational Research and Evaluation, 21(5-6), 466-484. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13803611.2015.1121833​
  • Morais, D. B., KC, B., Mao, Y., & Mosimane, A. (2015). Wildlife conservation through tourism micro-entrepreneurship among Namibian communities. Tourism Review International, 19(1-2), 43-61. Available at: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/cog/tri/2015/00000019/f0020001/art00004​
  • Mayer, J., King, T., KC, B., Will, B., & Peterson, M. (2014). Evaluating poaching deterrents in the Southeast. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 1, 146-149. Available at: http://www.seafwa.org/23Mayer_et_al_146-149.pdf​
  • KC, B., Stainback, G. A., & Chhetri, B. B. (2014). Community users’ and experts’ perspective on community forestry in Nepal: A SWOT-AHP analysis. Journal of Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 23(4), 1-15. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14728028.2014.929982​
  • KC, B., & Stainback, G. A. (2012). Financial analysis of Chir pine plantations for carbon offsets, timber and resin in Nepal. Banko Janakari: A Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal, 20(2), 3-10. Available at: https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/BANKO/article/view/9193/0​