Kalyan Bhandari

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Kalyan Bhandari

Dr

 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0366-9677

Accepting PhD Students

Willing to speak to media

20042025

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Area of academic expertise - outline

Sociology of leisure and tourism, nation,  national identity and nationalism; tourism and regional development; tourism public policy; tourism sustainability and climate change; events studies; tourism, society and culture in Nepal and Scotland

Current research activities

My current research focuses on the sociology of leisure. I am interested in the debate on the cross-cultural comparisons of leisure and on the morality of leisure in the non-western societies including the diasporic communities. My most recent research projects and publications have focussed on the social theory of leisure and tourism. 

I have recently concluded a project funded by the British Academy and Leverhume Trust on the convenanting heritage of Scotland. This study 
examined the dialogues that explain the invisibility of Covenanting memorials of the southwest region in Scottish tourism. 

My past research projects have examined sustainable tourism practices in Nepal.  I have also examined Nepali tourism industry’s readiness for a voluntary sustainable tourism certification scheme.  The project was funded by the GCRF-Internal Pump Priming funding.

Before that I managed a project funded by British Academy Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grant SRG 2015-16 Round. The study explored the significance of Mt. Everest as a ‘national’ icon in Nepal. The study was driven by the following research question: should Mt Everest continue to stimulate Nepal’s national imagery? The objectives of the study were: i. To explore the appreciation of Mt Everest as a national heritage in Nepal; and ii. To examine the significance of Mt Everest in the 'national' imagination in Nepal. 

Target collaborative organisations

Nepal Tourism Board (Nepal)

Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Commerce (Dumfries, Scotland))

Visit Scotland (Scotland)
Renfrewshire Council

Desired research direction

My research is driven by Sociology and most of my work is interdisciplinary in nature that draws from political science, anthropology, geography, history and development studies.

Other areas of expertise available for knowledge exchange

Tourism and national identity,

Tourism in Scotland

Tourism, society and culture in Nepal

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action

External positions

Co-Convener Leisure and Recreation Study Group , British Sociological Association

2024 → …

Editorial Board Member, Tourism Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Tourism & Hospitality Journal

2024 → …

Editorial Advisory Board - Leisure Studies Journal, https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rlst20

1 Jun 2023 → …

Editorial Board Member Sociology (Sage), https://journals.sagepub.com/home/SOC

2023 → …

Executive Committee Member , Britain Nepal Academic Council

2014 → 2020

Keywords

  • GV Recreation Leisure
  • Tourism
  • Destination Management
  • Tourism Public Policy
  • HM Sociology
  • national identity
  • Sociology of tourism
  • nationalism

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