As the Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute, his responsibilities with the Institute are mainly to facilitate interdisciplinary research projects focusing on wide range of tourism issues in the U.S. and internationally. Other duties as Director include working with potential donors, managing an advisory board and overseeing and coordinating all the marketing materials for the Institute. Dr. Thapa has been involved in numerous research projects in the state of Florida, U.S., and internationally. He has examined various tourism related topics including crisis management with an emphasis on level of preparedness and response for natural and human-induced disasters for governments and the private sectors.