Curriculum-vitae Tek Bahadur Dangi Address: Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences (RPTS) Texas A&M University (TAMU), 600 John Kimbrough Blvd. 455 AGLS College Station, TX, 77843-2261, E-mail: atldangi@tamu.edu Telephone (Office): 979 845 5411. Education PhD student in progress, RPTS, Texas A&M University, 2011-present. Expected Graduation date, December, 2015. MS- Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Wyoming (UW), December, 2010. Thesis Title: Ecotourism & Sustainable Development: Management Strategies of Rocky Mountain National Park. Master s Degree in English from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1989. Bachelor s Degree from Mahendra Campus, Dang, Nepal, 1982 Administrative and Tourism Trainings Executive Development Institute for Tourism, June 2002, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA Tourism Management Course in Thailand organized by Tourism Authority of Thailand in connection with Visit Nepal Year 98 (August 4, - September 12, 1997) Personnel Management 1995/96 (five weeks) organized by Nepal Administrative Staff College (NASC) - Distinction Tourism Marketing Planning-1993 (Three Months) Belgium Seminar on Tourism Promotion 1989 (Two Months), Japan Study Cycle on Tourism Management - 1988 organized by World Tourism Organization, (three weeks Distinction ) India Professional Membership Member-The Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta, Texas A&M University Chapter since 2013. Member- Rho Phi Lambda National Honor Society (Beta Delta Chapter of Rho Phi Lambda at the Texas A&M University) since 2012. Member- The International Ecotourism Society, 2009-2010; 2014-2015. Member- National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA, US) for 2009-2010; 2014-2015. Attended the Annual Congress & Exposition of NRPA held in Salt Lake City, Utah from October 13-16, 2009 PATA Board of Directors for 2001-2003. Attended 50 th and 51 st PATA Annual Conferences: 2002- New Delhi and 2003 Indonesia (Bali).. Page 1 of 6
Experience Destination Marketing and Administrative Experience Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board from February 28, 2003 to February 27, 2007 for a four-year term Acting Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board from December 2, 2002- February, 2003 Served as Director of Tourism Marketing & Promotion, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) from January 1, 1999 until December 1, 2002. Successfully steered all international marketing and promotion activities of the Board. The NTB is a public-private partnership based National Tourism Organization of Nepal mainly responsible for destination marketing Section Officer in the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) from 1986-1998. Served this organization with increasing and diverse responsibilities including planning section, promotion section, and tourist services section in the Department of Tourism under MoCTCA. Was in charge of international marketing and promotion for Visit Nepal Year 1998 campaign. Major Accomplishments as CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board In the capacity as head of a National Tourism Organization, discharged diverse duties and responsibilities ranging from office administration and management, destination marketing and promotion, budget and finance, public relations and publicity to tourism products and resources development. In that fashion, Destination Marketing Strategies and Action plans were devised and implemented through Nepal Tourism Board as secretariat. These included: Destination Nepal Campaign 2002-03: Mt. Everest Golden Jubilee Celebration event was organized very successfully under this campaign. The historic gathering attracted 200 plus Mt. Everest summiteers and 200 plus major international media in Kathmandu on May 29, 2003. The event garnered worldwide publicity. Regional Tourism Promotion Campaign 2003-04. This program was launched with a specific aim of focusing regional tourism promotion in India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, etc. This program has resulted in ongoing significant growth of tourism arrivals from these countries to Nepal. During my tenure (in 2004), NTB established and operated Media Centre and Tourism Crisis Management Unit, fully dedicated to tourist information, facilitation and coordination 24/7. Because of my special initiative and scheme as the CEO, NTB resources increased threefold to almost $2.5 million dollars in 2007 from a million dollars base in 2004 due to the Change in Tourism Service Fee (TSF) collection mechanism made possible through the change in Financial Act as per the input by NTB to Dr. Khatiwada Commission. Page 2 of 6
NTB initiated a process of inviting approximately 260 international tour-operators and journalists to Nepal annually under its public relations campaign. The campaign continued every-year, has been successful in enhancing the image of Nepal as a tourism destination. In 2006 the NTB launched a new brand "Naturally Nepal- Once is not enough." This is the first-ever Nepalese tourism brand professionally designed by international brand consultants. A five minute NTB documentary, under the banner of Naturally Nepal, won international Jury Prix Award at Tourfilm 2006 in Czech Republic. NTB's destination promotion CD-ROM has won PATA Gold Award twice in 2000 and 2006. NTB, with the approval of the government of Nepal, launched another campaign Visit Pokhara Year 2007 to boost the international tourism image of Nepal in post conflict era of peace, stability and democracy. The campaign was conceptualized and proposed by me as the CEO. Because of concerted marketing efforts coordinated by NTB as the national tourism organization of Nepal, the country witnessed a constant growth and resilience of the tourism sector despite domestic conflict and insurgency, international incidents of Sept. 11, Bird Flu, SARS, Tsunami, etc. Tourism in Nepal almost doubled between 2002 and 2007 from 275,468 to 526,705. Tourism Teaching & Related Experience Taught the following three Undergraduate courses as Instructor in the RPTS department of Texas A&M University: RPTS 301: Leisure and Outdoor Recreation in American Culture, spring, 2014 (In-class) RPTS 301: Leisure and Outdoor Recreation in American Culture, spring, 2013 (online) RPTS 426: Tourism Impacts, fall, 2011 (In-class) Served as TA for the following undergraduate classes in the RPTS Department of Texas A&M University: RPTS 426: Tourism Impacts, summer, 2013. Instructor-Tazim Jamal, PhD RPTS 426: Tourism Impacts, fall, 2012. Instructor- Tazim Jamal, PhD. RPTS 311: Recreation & Tourism Programs, fall, 2013. Instructor- Ron Fox RPTS 304: Community Development & Supporting Institutions, fall, 2013. Instructor-David Matarrita, PhD. RPTS 311: Recreation and Tourism Programs, spring, 2012. Instructor-Dr. Kim Free RPTS 321: Special Events & Tourism, spring 2012. Instructor-Daniel Jordan Professional Certification in Online Teaching (Core courses: Fundamentals of Teaching Online; Content Design and Development; and Assessment in Online Learning. Applying Page 3 of 6
the QM Rubric as elective course) offered by the Instructional Technology Services of Texas A & M University, 2014. Was awarded Graduate Teaching Academy (GTA) Fellows Certificate by the Center for Teaching Excellence of the Texas A&M University in April, 2012 upon the completion of one-year certificate program. Served as a Visiting Lecturer in tourism at Kathmandu Academy of Tourism and Hospitality, a private tourism university, and taught Tourism Products and Resources of Nepal (a graduate course) from April 2007 to June 2007. Served as a Visiting Lecturer in tourism at Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM), a government tourism training institute and taught Tourism Planning (a bachelor s level course) from May 2007 to August 2007. Conducted numerous lectures and classes on tourism courses like Tour Guide, Trekking Guide, Front Office Guide, Liaison Officer Orientation, English Language training in Hospitality Management, etc. run by NATHM and other tourism training institutes in Kathmandu, Nepal. For almost a decade (1991-1997), served as a part-time lecturer in English in a reputed private college in Kathmandu Nepal Science College. Worked as advisor of a bi-monthly English travel-trade magazine-everest Nepal (1996-1997). Served as a member of Curriculum Development Committee of compulsory English subject for IA and BA level under Tribhuvan University, Nepal from 1995-1997. English teacher in a public secondary school in Dang, Nepal for a few months in1982. Major Assignments Member-Secretary of New Tourism Master Plan Development Committee, 2006 chaired by the Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation. Member-Secretary of the Main Committee & Executive Committee of Destination Nepal National Campaign 2002-2003. Fairs/Conferences: Participated in and led Nepalese delegations to a dozen of International Travel Trade Conferences, seminars and global travel-trade fairs, including WTM-UK, ITB-Germany, JATA-Japan and several other travel-trade fairs in Asia and Europe. Led Nepal Tourism Promotion Missions in Europe, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and in Europe. Conducted Tourism Product Survey of potential tourism destinations in Nepal and submitted the report to the Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation. Worked as a member of the National Tourism Policy Formulation Task Force headed by the Joint- Secretary of Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation (Policy published in 1995) Worked as the leader of Tourism Market Study Team to Japan and Korea (South) for the Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation and submitted the report (1995). Page 4 of 6
Tourism Publications/ Presentations Made a research presentation (oral) during annual SETTRA (Southeast States Travel and Tourism Research Association) conference held in Lexington, Kentucky from March 23-26, 2014. The research paper was published in the official proceedings (Volume1, No.1) of the 2014 SETTRA Spring Conference. Made a presentation entitled sustainable tourism in Nepal as a speaker at Keene State College on March 11, 2014 in their Environmental Studies Lecture Series in the Honors Global Engagement Class. The presentation was attended by 40-50 students, faculty, staff and people from the Keene community. Participated in Poster Exhibition during the Student Research Week (March 25-29, 2013) organized by the Graduate Student Council of Texas A&M University. The theme of the poster was: Considering Nature Tourists Travel Behavior in Explaining their Emotional Solidarity with Residents of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The co-participants of the poster exhibition included: Kayode D. Aleshinloye, Tek B. Dangi and Kyle M. Woosnam, Ph.D. Completed MS in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Wyoming (2010), conducting a thesis research entitled: Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Management Strategies of Rocky Mountain National Park.. The research outcomes were presented during Rocky Mountain National Park Research Conference in Colorado, 2012. Made a presentation on Development, Management and Sustainability of Eco-tourism in Nepal during World Tourism Organization Regional Commission Meet held in the Maldives, April, 2001. Made a case study and country presentation on tourism in Nepal during a Workshop on Bio-diversity in Development Program held in Sri-Lanka in July, 1999 jointly organized by EC, DFID, and IUCN. Made a case study and country report presentation on tourism in Nepal during a seminar on Tourism Promotion in Countries in an Early Stage of Tourism Development, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam November, 1996 organized by ESCAP. List of publications: Conference Paper Publication Dangi, T. B., Xu, Y., Aleshinloye, K. D., Joo, E.D., Walker, J.R. &, Woosnam, K. M. (2014). Predicting Tourists Intentions to Revisit from Guest-Host Interactions and Emotional Ties in Galveston County, Texas. In Conference Paper Review Coordinator: Dr. Erick T. Byrd, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Special Thanks to the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) for sharing resources for our meeting. (p. 27). Page 5 of 6
Travel/tourism articles publication in travel-trade magazines and the Nepalese national dailies The World Tourism & the Way Ahead, published in The Kathmandu Post, January 9, 2002. Nepal Tourism Board, Commitment for Tourism Development, published in The Rising Nepal (English national daily with nationwide circulation), January 1, 2001. Efforts Made for the Tourism Development in Nepal (in Nepali) in Kantipur, January 01, 2001. Visit Nepal Year 1998: Achievements & Challenges, published in Kantipur (the largest circulated Nepali daily), September 27, 1996. Visit Nepal Year 1998: Achievements & Challenges, published in The Kathmandu Post (the largest circulated English daily) October 13, 1996. What does Visit Nepal Mean for Travellers?, published in The Kathmandu Post, December 14, 1997. Visit Nepal: The Unique Tourist Destination, published in Everest Nepal traveltrade magazine, Sept./Oct issue, 1993. Medals/Decorations: Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu IV conferred by then His Majesty the King of Nepal, 1995. (Updated in January, 2015) Page 6 of 6