Community-Based Tourism: a success

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Tourism, 2014

Prospects and Challenges of Community-Based Tourism and Changing Demographics, 2022

There has been a growing interest among academics and practitioners regarding community-based tourism (CBT) since it emerged as an alternative to conventional tourism. This interest has been particularly significant in developing countries where natural and cultural resources for CBT abound. Community-based tourism has been presented as a form of tourism where the local community has substantial control over, and involvement in its development and management, and a major proportion of the benefits remain within the community' (WWF, 2001). However, for local communities to derive the desired outcomes from tourism development, their participation in tourism development is imperative (Blackstock, 2005). CBT involves a bottom-up participatory approach to tourism development. It is a form of tourism where decision-making and control of the pace of tourism development are vested in local communities. CBT also serves as a tool for the conservation of the environment, as the revenue derived from tourism provides an incentive for the conservation of natural and cultural resources by local communities. Thus, there is the recognition that CBT can create better linkages between conservation, economic development and sustainable development (Stronza & Godillo, 2008; West, 2006). In order to use tourism to stimulate growth, communities should ensure that it supports local economic development, promotes equitable participation by community members, is ecologically sustainable, reduces negative environmental impacts, conserves the culture of the community and educates visitors about culture and nature (Asker et al, 2010). However, the benefits of CBT do not only accrue to the local community, but also tourists who seek individualistic, participatory, sustainable, and distinctive spiritual and cultural features of the community (López-Guzmán, Borges, & Castillo-Canalejo, 2011). Despite the importance of CBT for community development, it has been observed that policies and practices adopted by governments have concentrated power and resource control in the state. This erodes traditional tenure and resource management

Tourism Management, 2008

Tourism is simultaneously portrayed as a destroyer of culture, undermining social norms and economies, degrading social structures, stripping communities of individuality; and as a saviour of the poor and disadvantaged, providing opportunities and economic benefits, promoting social exchange and enhancing livelihoods. The aim of this paper is to introduce, define and examine the concept of Community Benefit Tourism Initiatives (CBTIs) and identify the range of characteristics that contribute to creating the best possible scenario for a successful, sustainable and responsible CBTI. The paper considers the roles of key stakeholders in CBTIs: government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and communities. It seeks to identify the critical components of CBTI development, the potential problems associated with CBTIs and some of their possible solutions.

Teoros: revue de recherche en tourisme, 2016

Emerging Trends in Social Science Research; Edition: First; Chapter: 6; Publisher: Archers & Elevators Publishing House, Bangalore, India; ISBN: 978-93-90996-07-0

Tourism has long been viewed as a sector capable of improving people's economic welfare. Many experts however argue that tourism does not always guarantee a higher income for the communities as on several occasions while designing a tourism development blueprint, “community participation” has received little attention. In this context, one type of tourism, which is directly related to “community participation”, is Community-Based Tourism (CBT). CBT is increasingly gaining popularity in developing nations; as it is theorized that, such a tourism approach can strengthen the local economies, empower the local communities, optimize linkages, limit leakages, promote destinations, as well as, can provide a higher quality of visitor experience at tourist destinations. Though CBT projects have benefited many underserved communities in many regions, a good number of CBT efforts have also failed to produce the positive effects and therefore, cannot claim success. Hence, the basic concepts, and various aspects of CBT, and its challenges must be thoroughly understood. This paper focuses on this very aspect. This study is a conceptual research. It takes a qualitative approach to explain the concept of CBT, its benefits, and the challenges that make CBT endeavors less impactful at many places. The data for this study is collected from both primary and secondary sources. This paper will raise awareness of Community Based Tourism (CBT) that may help the communities, as well as, the tourism planners and policy-makers to successfully implement the CBT projects/initiatives; so that it can be a sustainable solution for a better community life and at the same time, ensure visitor-satisfaction at the tourist destinations.

African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 2020

Numerous developing countries recognize the latent possibilities of their natural resources for tourism growth and sustainability. Community based tourism initiatives are essentially cooperative actions by clusters of people in a community through which some small to medium scale homegrown tourism industry can be developed. There is thus a popular view that for CBT to be sustainable, it has to be accepted and supported by local communities as the custodians of the natural resources in their vicinity. Local communities should be involved from the planning phase of CBT projects, which were meant to benefit them socio-economically, while also empowering them to participate actively in the conservation of local environmental assets. Various authors have raised concerns that the community benefits of CBT are exaggerated, irregular, modest, tokenistic, neo liberal and supportive of inequalities that it was meant to offset, as tourism growth does not necessary work towards poverty reductio...

Key elements of success and barriers in community based tourism Abstract Community 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.

Desde la creación de la iniciativa Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP), el turismo ha sido presentado como una herramienta efectiva en la eliminación de pobreza y promover el desarrollo humano sostenible. Una de las formas de turismo incluidas en la iniciativa ST-EP es el Turismo Comunitario. Basado en el estudio de caso realizado en la iniciativa de turismo comunitario en el barrio Usme en Bogotá, Colombia, este artículo argumenta que el turismo comunitario no puede ser una actividad paternalista a través de la cooperación y donación. Si no, se debe considerar como cualquier otra iniciativa de negocios internacionales. El paternalismo, como actualmente realizado, conlleva al malentendimiento del propósito de las iniciativas de turismo comunitario y conduce a las comunidades a un círculo vicioso de subdesarrollo.

Journal article , 2023

Community-based tourism (CBT) has often been viewed as a community development tool for alleviating poverty and improving community lifestyle standards. The mention of community-based tourism was seen in the 1970s and started to get attention in the 1990s. In community-based tourism, the locals have full authority and ownership of tourism businesses, ensuring that tourism's financial benefit stays in the local economy. Community-based tourism is associated with other forms, such as pro-poor, sustainable, alternative, and rural tourism. This paper presents an overview of community-based tourism with the help of a rigorous search of secondary information. The findings of this study include the concept of CBT, factors facilitating CBT, challenges of CBT development, and the role of CBT in the development of the local community. This paper expounds that the development of community-based tourism has a massive contribution to local employment creation, increase in local income, improved knowledge and skill of locals, and increase the local standard of living.