Birendra KC, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & MIST Graduate
Coordinator
birendra
Research interest
Sustainable Tourism Tourism Policy and Planning Tourism Entrepreneurship Ecotourism Biodiversity Conservation Sustainability  

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.

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...

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