Tourism was introduced in Elmina and Cape Coast, Ghana, Africa, in the late 1980s in part to assist in the reduction of poverty. However, more than 15 years later, the sector has not developed to the extent needed to significantly reduce poverty. A participatory approach to research indicated that the cause was a lack of capacity building. Existing definitions of capacity building are complex and elusive and so far it has not been used as a development objective but as a measurement to realize short-term results. A new clearer definition of capacity building is proposed that is based on the concept of four types of capital: social, human, physical, and financial. It is contended that this definitional clarification allows capacity building to be measured and assessed and therefore legitimately used as a development objective

Although the objectives for transboundary protected areas are often clear, in practice the development and management of these areas, particularly for tourism, are complex. Often explained, in part, by cultural and political differences evident among border partners, this complexity adds to the challenge of managing these often pristine natural areas for tourism. Through a casestudy of Peneda-Geres National Park, Northern Portugal, which forms part of the Transfrontier Park of Geres-Xures, and which encompasses the Natural Park of Baixa-Limia Serra do Xures of Galicia, Spain, this paper sets out to explore the effectiveness of transboundary partnerships for purposes of visitor management in transboundary protected areas. The paper introduces 12 core guidelines, developed by the authors, for transboundary visitor management and highlights the range of constraints and limitations that impede effective visitor management. Thereafter, the paper compares and contrasts the 12 core guidelines with the visitor management 'actions' and 'decisions', and their underlying rationale, taken by the transboundary protected area authorities of the Transfrontier Park of Geres-Xures. The paper concludes with an assessment of the success to date of the Portuguese authorities in their attempts to meet the core guidelines. Subsequently, a preliminary assessment as to the implementation of further guidelines for the future is conducted. A Portuguese perspective is emphasised throughout this paper, owing to recent developments in Portuguese National Policy aimed towards the promotion of nature-based tourism, efforts in the establishment and embetterment of a network of Protected Areas and the political and economic importance of cross-border activities for northern Portugal and Galicia, Spain.