Where Do We Go From Here?
Community Focused Tourism
Development And The Possibility for
Change In Today’s Tourism Industry
Emily McIntyre
Katie Vivian
Michelle Ramalho
Agenda
• Introduction
• Sustainability and Community Based
Tourism
• Case Study: Operation Wallacea, Indonesia
• Stakeholder Involvement and Participation
• Group Activity: Island Tourism
• Collaboration and Partnerships
• Benefits & Obstacles of Community Based
Tourism
• Recommendations for the Future
• Concluding Thoughts
Introduction:Key Terms
• Community Based
Tourism: ‘Centers on the
involvement of the host
community in planning and
maintaining tourism
development in order to
create a more sustainable
industry’ (Hall, 1996).
• Community
Development: ‘Building
active and sustainable
communities based on
social justice and mutual
respect’ (Gilcrest, 2003).
Sustainability and Community
Based Tourism
• WHO?
– Local community members,
tourism operators and
government officials
– All stages of development
• HOW?
– Empower, educate and ensure
equal opportunity
• WHY?
– Balance socio-cultural,
economic and ecological realms
– Critically analyze current
tourism trends
Discussion: What role do you think sustainability plays in local residents’ lives?
Consider the following quote “…how can someone whose children are without food
be expected to care about elephants?” (Sharpley & Roberts, 2004).
Case Study: Operation Wallacea,
Indonesia
• Volunteer Tourism is the work of an individual(s)
in a destination area during their vacation to
accomplish a non-remunerative activity (Singh
and Singh, 2004)
•
•
•
•
•
Education
Radio Announcements
Work with Non-profit FORKANI
Environmental and Cultural preservation
Initiatives to spread the income
Host Attitudinal/Behavioural
Responses to Tourist Activity
(Bjorklund and Philbrick, 1972)
Stakeholder Involvement and
Participation
•
•
•
•
Community participation
Local control
Stakeholder involvement
Indigenous systems are
often more sustainable
(Sharpley and Telfer,
2002)
• Harmonize with cultural
traditions
• Community cohesion and
cooperation
Group Activity
• Destination Profile:
– Small island
developing state
in the South
Pacific
– Tourism is a new
economic
opportunity
Discussion Groups:
1. Local
community
2. Government
3. Operators
Community Conflicts and the
Soloman Islands (Sofield, 1996)
• Adverse socio-cultural
impacts
• Issues over land
ownership (traditional vs.
modern notions)
• Resort development on
an uninhabited island
caused significant
problems
• Provoked domestic
political tension
• Loss of Investor
confidence
Collaboration and Partnerships
• Lack of coordination in developing countries
• Collaborative effort is necessary for success
in developing tourism
• Private, Public and Government Agencies
• Co-management as a
solution to share
resources (Plummer
and Fitzgibbon, 2004)
• Collaboration under
Sustainable
Development
Partnerships (Bramwell and
Lane, 2000)
Benefits
-Range of stakeholders
involved for change and
improvements
-Democracy
-Social acceptance
-Coordination of policies
- Importance of noneconomic issues
-Pooling of resources
-Non-tourism activities may
be encouraged
Barriers
-Limited tradition of
stakeholders participating
in policy making
-Difficult for equal
representation
-Healthy conflict may be
stifled
-Collaborative efforts may
be under-resourced
-May block innovation
-Costly & time consuming
Community Based Tourism
Advantages
• Emphasis on locality:
– Participation, control
etc.
• Improvements to:
– Infrastructure,
awareness etc.
Obstacles
• Social Structure:
– Gender roles, power
and politics
• Possibilities for
diversification:
– Social, economic and
environmental
Discussion: Based on the arguments for both sides of ‘the issues
of partnerships and community based tourism’, which elements
from each side do you think should be included to ensure effective
development’ in host destinations?
Recommendations for the
Future
1) Alternatives & Differentiation in Tourism
2) Collaboration and partnerships
3) Continual monitoring and management
Concluding Thought…
Based on the issues presented here
today, do you think that tourism
development has the capacity to
change?
References
Bjorklund, E.M. and Philbrick, A.K. (1972). Spatial configurations of
mental process. Unpublished paper, Department of Geography,
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
Blackstock, K. (2005). A Critical Look as Community Based Tourism.
Community Development Journal, 40 (4), 39-48.
Bramwell, B. and Lane, B. (2000). Tourism Collaboration and
Partnerships: Politics, Practice and Sustainability. Great Britain:
Biddles Ltd.
Manyara, J. & Jones, E. (2007). Community-based Tourism
Enterprises development in Kenya: An Exploration of Their
Potential as Avenues of Poverty Reduction. Journal of Sustainable
Tourism, 15 (6), 628-644.
Plummer, R. and Fitzgibbon, J. (2004). Co-Management of Natural
Resources: A Proposed Framework. Environmental Management
33 (6), 876-885.
References Cont’d.
Sharpley, R. and Telfer, D. (2002). Tourism and Development: Concepts and
Issues. Clevedon: Channel View Publications.
Sharpley, R. and Roberts, L. (2004) Rural tourism – 10 years on.
International Journal of Tourism Research 6, 119-124.
Shunnaq, W., Schwab, W. & Reid, M. (2008). Community Development
Using a Sustainable Tourism Strategy: A Case Study of the Jordan
River Valley Touristway. International Journal of Tourism Research, 10
1-14.
Singh, S., and Singh, T. V. (2004). Volunteer tourism: New pilgrimages to
the Himalayas. In T. V. Singh (Ed.), New horizons of tourism: Strange
experiences and stranger practices (pp. 181-194). Wallingford, UK:
CAB International.
Sofield, T. (1996). ‘Anuha Island resort: a case study of failure’, in Butler,
R. and Hinch, T. (eds) Tourism and Indigenous People, London:
Thomson Learning.
Yiping, L. (2004). Exploring Community Tourism in China: The Case of
Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 12
(3), 175-190.