ABSTRACT
Community-based tourism (CBT) promotes a model for enhancing communities’ social, environmental, and economic needs upheld as a post-Covid-19 revival strategy. This study aimed to critically review the model following longitudinal fieldwork in Thailand. “Reflection-in-action” methodology exposes CBT failings against sustainable development goals (SDGs). CBT falsely assumes: communities possess necessary capability for effective implementation; structural equity exists among host, and hosts possess uninhibited local control over their tourism assets. Such expositions underpin the study’s contributions: a supply-side focus on “community outputs” rather than the demand-side “expectations” of tourists; contradictions to known asset-based development assumptions; and theoretical extension to the CBT literature through critique to onsite experiences against sustainable development goals. Such may assist communities to move beyond their current “constraints” focus to that of “contextual experts” in local community assets. The study demonstrates a need for research, practice, and policy stakeholders to move CBT beyond theorization to a genuine sustainability tool.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge and thank contributions from the respective project heads and respective village participants who enthusiastically supported the research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1. Personal communication (14 April 2022) with one provincial office confirms a present key staff is moving to a new position outside of the province.