Community-Based Tourism Planning: An Application of the APPA Approach to Ansted, West Virginia

Abstract

rural communities throughout the world have been struggling with developing effective ways to improve their quality of life while without losing their rural atmosphere. Community-based tourism planning has been regarded as an effective means of achieving this dual goal. this article applied the Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action (APPA) approach to a rural community town of Ansted in West Virginia, USA, whereas the tourism assets, tourism development priorities and challenges, and tourism products/markets were identified for the town. In addition, residents' attitudes toward tourism development in the town were also examined. the results indicate that local residents' attitudes were highly positive and homogeneous. the majority did not believe that issues from increased tourism would be a problem for the community. rather, they were more disposed toward tourism development for local economic development and benefits. the article concludes that tourism planning for the town cannot be conducted and implemented independent of regional planning and development that involve other factors or economic activities such as coal mining in this study. In addition, community-based tourism planning cannot be separated from community planning as a whole and should be integrated into other aspects of community development programs.

Attitudes and Perceptions of the Local Community towards Sustainable Tourism Development in Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq

“…On the other hand, they see tourism as a job creator and an opportunity for the development of the local community. At the same time, their attitude toward the cultural benefits of tourism development is more significant than the one of the cluster named "disinterested for tourism development", thus reinforcing the results of Deng et al [57].…”

Community participation in sustainable rural tourism experience creation: a long-term appraisal and lessons from a thematic villages project in Poland

“…Differences in the model of local community involvement presented in this paper, compared to those in the literature, are especially noticeable in the early stages. Apart from positive results described in detail in literature on the subject and ensuing from strong local involvement in sustainable tourism development (Deng et al, 2011;Moscardo, 2011;Murphy, 1985;Okazaki, 2008), another consequence of this involvement is that there can be problems adapting the offer to market conditions. Although during stage 4 an attempt is made by villagers to look at their resources from the external perspective, there are always inward-orientated decisions made and actions performed by local communities with limited marketing knowledge and experiences.…”

“…socio-cultural changes ensuing from tourism development (Deng et al, 2011) and can maximize social and economic benefits, because both the benefits and costs are fairly redistributed (Arnstein, 1969;Inskeep, 1991). Drake (1991) adds that local participation raises efficiency and effectiveness of implemented development projects and builds capacity among beneficiaries.…”

“…That is why emphasis is placed on maximizing community involvement in tourism development, alongside economic, social and environmental issues (Deng, Arbogast, & Selin, 2011;Iorio & Corsale, 2014;Mair & Reid, 2007;Sakata & Prideaux, 2013;Saufi, O'Brien, & Wilkins, 2014;Su & Wall, 2014;Tasci, Croes, & Villanueva, 2014). The process is illustrated by the terms "local participation", "community involvement" and "planning tourism for a community", used by facilitators such as professional planners, consultants, local governments or nongovernmental organizations.…”

Sociodemographic Influences on Residents’ Perceptions of Tourism Development in Zimbabwe

“…However, the extant literature reveals a lack of consensus as to the differences in perceptions between young and old residents. While some scholars (see, for example, Cavus & Tanrisevdi, 2002) are of the view that the older a resident grows, the more negative their perceptions of tourism development tend to become, whereas others (Deng et al, 2011) argue that the opposite is true. Tomjenovic and Faulkner (2000) support the view that the older residents tend to have more positive perceptions of tourism development than do the younger ones.…”