Mobilizing knowledge: determining key elements for success and pitfalls in developing community-based tourism

Abstract

Key elements of success and barriers in community based tourism AbstractCommunity based tourism (CBT) has often been cited as an alternative to mass tourism and an approach for tourism to become more sustainable. If developed well, CBT can become a poverty alleviation mechanism and a way to access improvements in quality of life, providing empowerment and greater economic benefit to individuals in local communities. Despite the plethora of literature on CBT and evaluation of models, there is little analysis of the facilitators and barriers to achieving it. Through the use of case studies in both academic and grey literature, this paper serves as an instructive review of the CBT literature to synthesise the key elements of success and the challenges.

Community Empowerment and Sustainable Tourism Development: The Mediating Role of Community Support for Tourism

“…In the tourism development field, community empowerment is vital element in implementing STD [9]. Historically, scholars (e.g., [4,26]) have highlighted the strong connection between empowerment of local people and community well-being via tourism. Though several studies have focused on general power and community participation without considering community empowerment and its contribution to sustainable tourism [15,27], residents' empowerment is a prerequisite for STD [28,29].…”

“…In the last decade, the World Tourism Organization has launched tourism campaigns and sustainable tourism/poverty eliminating programs as tools to uplift the economic benefits in marginalized communities [1][2][3]. In particular, it has been extensively recognized that community-based tourism can improve the communities' economic status [4]. Local people have preserved their traditional culture and society, leading to a rise in tourist interest in local cultures.…”

An Integrated Approach to “Sustainable Community-Based Tourism”

“…In the developing world, specifically the global "south" regions of Africa, Asia, South America, the origins of CBT can be traced to rural community development, economic and capacity building, social justice, poverty alleviation and community-based conservation, while economic considerations primarily drove CBT in the global "north" [6,8,29,85]. Similar to ST, CBT is also promoted by conservation, non-governmental, and international organizations, such as the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility [86] (p. 2). However, it aims to maximize benefits for community stakeholders rather than absent investors, who may still be participants in ST operations, such as airlines, mega-resorts and chain-hotel investments.…”

Where is the community in geoparks? A systematic literature review and call for attention to the societal embedding of geoparks

“…Combining these insights with case-study evidence in Scotland led Stoffelen and Vanneste (2016) to concluding that there is a widespread "implementation gap" between the regional development potential of tourism and actual, concrete outcomes. This situation is the consequence of disempowered communities, limited skills and access to training and finances of local entrepreneurs, and non-inclusive international value chains (Adiyia et al, 2015;Dodds et al, 2016). This situation is the consequence of disempowered communities, limited skills and access to training and finances of local entrepreneurs, and non-inclusive international value chains (Adiyia et al, 2015;Dodds et al, 2016).…”