Featuring Our Faculty

Professor

Community Outreach Interests

Over the years, I have worked in rural tourism planning, development and marketing in a variety of geographical and cultural settings including New England, Colorado, Germany, the Republik of Moldova, Grenada, and the South Eastern U.S. At NC State University, I taught classes in tourism and provided technical assistance and training to North Carolina communities through the Cooperative Extension Service.  In 2002 and 2003, I served as Director of Tourism at HandMade In America, Inc., a non-profit that promotes and celebrates the artisans of Western North Carolina.   I love working all over the state and beyond on nature-based tourism, cultural tourism, and sustainable food systems, and am excited about the opportunity to focus my energy now through the Center for Sustainable Tourism and the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. 

Research Interests

My general research focus is rural tourism within the U.S. or in economically developing nations. Specific interests within this broad umbrella include:

• The role of entrepreneurial climate in tourism
• Entrepreneurs in rural tourism
• Community factors that lead to successful tourism development
• The seven 'community capitals' and their application to tourism
• Resident attitudes towards tourism
• Sustainable food systems in tourism
• Exploring niche markets opportunities for rural landowners and communities, such as equestrian tourism, paddling tourism, African-American heritage products, culinary and the scientific, academic, volunteer and educational (SAVE) markets
• Tourism development in Ghana and tourist motivations for visiting Ghana

Notable Publications

Kline, C. & Milburn, C. 2010. Entrepreneurial Climate and Rural Tourism Development: A Review of the Literature. Annals of Leisure Research, 13(1/2).

Kline, C. 2010. Setting the Tone for Tourism: Utilizing the S.A.V.E. Market.  Journal of Educational Travel 1(1).

McGehee, N.G. and Kline, C.S. 2008. Entrepreneurship and the Rural Tourism Industry: A Primer. Book Chapter. Building Community Capacity for Tourism Development. CABI Publishing: United Kingdom.

Kline, C., Cardenas, D.A., Leung, Y. and Sanders, S. 2007. Sustainable farm tourism: understanding and managing environmental impacts of visitor activities. Journal of Extension, 45(2).