Interrogating the role of the state and nonstate actors in community-based tourism ventures: toward a model for spreading the benefits to the wider community

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to present a model of community-based tourism (CBT) and to expound on its benefits in relation to community development. It argues that, in order to promote holistic community development, genuine community-based enterprises must be under the full control of community members to avoid domination by the elite or external actors. The article posits that the character and methodology of intervention by external actors are paramount in determining the outcome of CBT development projects. In terms of who benefits from CBT ventures, this article argues that the benefits must be community wide. It reflects on two types of CBT (labeled types 1 and 2) and weighs their values in terms of their benefit to communities. Issues regarding cooperation between CBT ventures, common ownership of physical assets and the relevance of the accommodation sector are expounded. The main conclusion reached is that, regardless of the type of CBT services or facilities adopted, these ventures should remain fully owned, managed and controlled by community members (or groups of independent micro and small ventures under the same CBT management organization); external partners should provide facilitative and other supporting services instead of being a partner in the CBT venture itself.

Keywords:

• community-based tourism
• community development
• South Africa
• tourism models
• self-reliance
• empowerment

Notes

^1. [email protected].

^2. Peredo and Chrisman (2006, p. 315) define a community as:

an aggregation of people that is not defined initially by the sharing of goals or the productive activities of the enterprise but, rather, by shared geographical location, generally accompanied by collective culture and/or ethnicity and potentially by other shared relational characteristic(s).

However, the concept of a community is an elusive one, and a clear definition is difficult. In this article, in line with Peredo and Chrisman (2006, p. 315), a community is defined as a group of people in a geographically circumscribed area, where individual community members are economically and socially interwoven through their specific cultural background (see also Giampiccoli and Hayward Kalis 2012).

^3. Translated from Spanish.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrea Giampiccoli

1 1. [email protected].