Dr. Kiran Shinde has researched extensively on topics related to cultural heritage and tourism, urban planning, destination management etc.

With five books and more than 60 research articles published in high-ranking journals and books with reputed publishers, he is considered as a leading scholar in research on religious, cultural, and heritage tourism and their intersections with urban planning and management.

His books include Sacred Sites, Rituals, and Performances: New Perspective for Religious Tourism Development (2021, MDPI); Religious Tourism and the Environment (co-edited with Daniel Olsen, 2020, CABI); A Research Agenda for Religious Tourism (co-edited with Joseph Cheer, Edward Elgar, forthcoming); Religious Heritage and Tourism in Asia (co-edited with Dallen Timothy, Routledge, forthcoming). 

He was commissioned by UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation) to lead a project on “Buddhist Tourism in Asia: Towards Sustainable Development” that covered Buddhist heritage and tourism 16 countries.