Dr. Bernard M. Kitheka

Details

Education

• PhD, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University
• MS, Environmental Sciences (Sustainability), Miami University
• BSc, Wildlife Management, Moi University

Teaching

• Ecotourism
• Fundamentals of Tourism
• Tourism and Sustainable Development (Education Abroad)
• World Regional Geography

Professional experience

• Sustainable tourism
• Ecotourism development
• Conservation education and outreach
• Sustainable livelihoods
• Recreation-human wellbeing linkage
• Urban change and sustainability
• Social dimensions of sustainability

Research and professional interests

• Sustainable tourism
• Urban change & sustainability
• Human dimensions of sustainability
• Community-based ecotourism
• Conservation education
• Community empowerment
• Sustainable development
• Environmental interpretation
• Travel & tourism competitiveness
• Recreation in human wellbeing linkage
• Recreation, play & social inclusion

Selected publications

• • Kitheka, B.M. (2024). Pro-environmental behaviors in higher education: a contextualized planned behavior perspective. Current Social Science, 2(33-42), e290424229498
  • Kitheka, B. M. & Comer, R. (2023). Cribbage culture and social worlds: An analysis of closeness, inclusiveness, and specialization. Journal of Leisure Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2022.2148145
  • Liang, Y., Kim, J., & Kitheka, B. M. (2022). Self-Assessment of Research Skills among Undergraduate Students: A Kinesiology Field Perspective. International Journal of Kinesiology in Higher Education, 1-12.
  • Ezra, P. M., Kitheka B. M. et al. (2021). Responses and impacts of COVID-19 on East Africa’s tourism industry. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 10(6), pp. 1711-1727
  • Kitheka, B. M., Baldwin, E. D., & Powell, R. B. (2021) Grey to green: Tracing the path to environmental transformation and regeneration of a major industrial city. Cities, 108, pp. 1-12.
  • Kitheka, M.B, & Liang, Y.L. (2020). Ozarks Ecotourism Conceptualization, Endowments and Trends: Practitioner Perspective. Journal of Tourism & Management Research, 5(2), 696-716.
  • Kitheka, B.M, Baldwin, E.D. & Larson, L. (2019). Romanticism in urban landscapes: parks, tourism, and the rebirth of Chattanooga-TN. Tourism Geographies, DOI: 10.1080/14616688.2019.1618904.
  • Kitheka, B.M. & Sirima, A. (2018). Tourism governance and organizational infrastructure in the East African Community: A baseline analysis. In M. Mkono, Contemporary Geographies of Leisure, Tourism and Mobility: Positive tourism in Africa. Milton Park, UK: Taylor & Francis: Taylor & Francis.
  • Kitheka, B.M., Baldwin, E.D & Norman, W.C. (2018). Park-based urban regeneration and tourism evolution in a cityscape: A case for Chattanooga, Tennessee. International Journal of Tourism Sciences, 18(1), 43-64.
  • Kitheka, B., McGuire, F., Nibigira, C. & Mgonja, J. (2017). The role of play in social inclusion and democracy: a case study of Bujumbura. Burundi, African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences, 23(4) pp.590-607.
  • Carmen, N., Kitheka, B. & Sabuhoro, E. (2017). Regional tourism development within the East African Community. In R. Butler & W. Santukill (Eds.), Tourism and political change (pp. 27-37). Oxford, UK: Goodfellow.
  • Kitheka, B.M., Baldwin, E.D., White, D.L., & Harding, D.N. (2016). A different “we” in urban sustainability: how the city of Chattanooga, TN, community defined their own sustainability path. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 2(3), 185-205.
  • Kitheka, B.M. & Backman, S.K. (2016). Gaps in tourism-environment policy in Kenya: a content analysis to assess sustainable tourism policy in the country. International Journal Tourism Policy, 6 (3/4), 235-255.

Other interests

Dr. Kitheka has research and consulting experience on travel and tourism competitiveness in the East African region. Other works include supporting preservation of open spaces and advocating for plays and recreation programming in developing countries and supporting sustainable tourism development initiatives in East Africa and Jamaica. He enjoys study abroad programs that expose his students to other cultures and ways of life.

Awards and honors