Nancy G. McGehee
Professor

362A Wallace Hall, Virginia Tech
295 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
295 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Nancy Gard McGehee, PhD is Professor and Co-editor of the Journal of Travel Research, the 2021 top-ranked impact factor journal in the area of tourism and Pamplin elite journal. Her research focus is rural tourism development at both the domestic and international levels. She has published over 44 refereed journal articles, 2 books and 5 book chapters. She is a Fulbright Specialist Program Awardee (Portugal, May 2015, Rural Tourism Development), received the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in International Research in 2014, and was cited as an Outstanding Woman in Travel Research by Women in Travel and Tourism International (WITTI) in April 2017.
Research Area
- Rural Tourism Development
- Volunteer Tourism
- Sustainable Tourism
Research methods
- Appreciative Inquiry
- In-depth interview analysis
- Content Analysis
- Ethnography
- Community Capitals Analysis
Publications that best represent my research
- Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G., Lamoureux, K. and Stern, M. (2021) Transformative Tourism: Tourists’ Drawings, Symbols, and Narratives of Change. Annals of Tourism Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103141 (accepted 1/7/21) *
- Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G, and Knollenberg, W. (2020). Developing and Testing the Transformative Tourism Scale (TTS). Journal of Travel Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520919511 (accepted 3/4/20) *
- Knollenberg, W., McGehee, N.G. and Perdue, R., and Andereck, K. (2020). We’re All in This Together: Understanding How Tourism Advocates Build Relationships across the Tourism Industry. Journal of Travel Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520906216 (accepted 12/18/19) *
- Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G., Lamoureux, K. and Stern, M. (2021) Transformative Tourism: Tourists’ Drawings, Symbols, and Narratives of Change. Annals of Tourism Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103141 (accepted 1/7/21)*
- Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G, and Knollenberg, W. (2020). Developing and Testing the Transformative Tourism Scale (TTS). Journal of Travel Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520919511 (accepted 3/4/20)*
- Knollenberg, W., McGehee, N.G. and Perdue, R., and Andereck, K. (2020). We’re All in This Together: Understanding How Tourism Advocates Build Relationships across the Tourism Industry. Journal of Travel Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520906216 (accepted 12/18/19)*
* Pamplin elite list journal
Undergraduate
- HTM 2454 Travel and Tourism Management
- HTM 3484 Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism
Graduate
- HTM 6434 Theories in Hospitality a Tourism Management
Conferences
- Travel and Tourism research Association International Conference (TTRA)
- World Travel and Tourism Council summit (WTTC)
Professional Experiences
- Co-editor, Journal of Travel Research, Pamplin Elite Journal
- Editorial Board member, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2008-2021
- Editorial Board member, Journal of Travel Research, 2004-2021
- Associate Editor, Annals of Tourism Research, 2013-2021
- Awards Judge, Tourism Cares for Tomorrow, 2019
- Member, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2018-19
- Review Board member, Destinations International Accreditation, since 2018
- Board of Directors member, Via International, San Diego CA/Tijuana Mexico, 2013-2018
- Board of Directors member, University of Fondwa (UNIF-USA), Haiti, 2012- 2015
- Committee member, Voluntourism Advisory Committee, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), International Voluntourism Guidelines Project, 2010-2012
- Advisory Board member, Good Travel.Org, Wellington, NZ, since 2015
- Member, Travel and Tourism Research Association(TTRA), since 1991
Education
- PhD, Sociology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 1999
- MS, Sociology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 1995
- MS, PRTM, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
- BA, Sports Marketing and Management , Marshall University, Huntington, VA
Honors and Awards
- Outstanding Woman in Travel Research, Women in Travel and Tourism International (WITTI), April 2017
- Fulbright Specialist Awardee, Portugal, May 2015
- Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in International Research, 2014
Grants
- McGehee, N.G. and Perdue, R.R., Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Virginia Tourism Industry Contrack Extension. Virginia Tourism Corporation ($83,508), 2010
- McGehee, N.G., Magnini, V., and Perdue, R.R. Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Virginia Tourism Industry: A Blueprint for Strategic Planning and Development, Virginia Tourism Corporation ($56,536), 2009
- McGehee, N.G. and Perdue, R.R., Feasibility Study for a New River Valley Regional Tourism Organization. Virginia Tourism Corporation. ($50,000), 2008
- Perdue, R.R., Understanding Market Sensitivity to Lift Ticket Prices at Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts, Inc. Broomfield, CO ($26,576), 2007
Destination
- Destination: New York, New York. As they say in the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” it’s the greatest city in the world!
Food & Drink
- Anything from home