Community Development Tourism as a Sustainable

AlternativeEmily McIntyre

Agenda

• Introduction• Sustainability and Community-based Tourism• Case Study: Operation Wallacea, Indonesia• Stakeholder Involvement and Participation• Collaboration and Partnerships• Stakeholder Activity• Benefits of Community-based Tourism• Obstacles to Community-based Tourism• Recommendations for the Future• Conclusion

Introduction

Sustainability and Community-based Tourism

• Empowering Communities• Providing Opportunities• Grassroots involvement• Democracy and Holistic Planning• Break free from the destructive influences of mass

tourism • Regard for Socio-cultural and economic

conditions• Treated as subjects, and not objects

Operation Wallacea, Indonesia

• Stakeholder involvement in processes• Traditional knowledge and cultural variables• Education in Resource management and English• Radio Announcements• Work with Non-profit FORKANI• Environmental and Cultural preservation• Initiatives to spread the income

Doxey’s Irridex

Stakeholder Involvement and Participation

• Local Control• All voices should be heard• Stakeholder’s involved in all

processes from the beginning

• Indigenous systems are often more sustainable (Sharpley and Telfer, 2002)

• Harmonized with cultural traditions

• Community cohesion and cooperation

Collaboration and Partnerships

• Lack of coordination in developing countries• Collaborative effort is necessary for success in

developing tourism• Private, Public and Government Agencies• Cross-border Cooperation• Co-management as a solution to share resources

(Plummer and Fitzgibbon, 2004)• Collaboration under Sustainable DevelopmentDebate: How may partnerships be a benficial? A barrier?

Partnerships (Bramwell and Lane, 2000)

Benefits-Range of stakeholders

involved for change and improvements

 -Democracy -Social acceptance -Coordination of policies - Importance of non-economic

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 

Benefits of Community-based Tourism

• Higher degree of local participation

• Community-friendly destinations

• Infrastructure development

• Local products and labour

• Raises community-awareness

• Economic benefits

Obstacles to Community-based Tourism

• Traditional views of Power concentration

• Political power or coercion

• Role of Women

• Inadequate local expertise in tourism

• A sense of inadequacy

• Economic Issues

Recommendations for the Future

Conclusion

• Community-based tourism provides a more sustainable alternative than mass tourism

• Role of Community leaders • Continual monitoring and management• Potential for Political, Social, Economic

and Psychological empowerment• Acheives sustainability, harmony and

cultural integrity

Questions

• How may partnerships be a barrier to these communities?

References

Bramwell, B. and Lane, B. (2000). Tourism Collaboration and Partnerships: Politics, Practice and Sustainability. Great Britain: Biddles Ltd.

Jamal, T. and Getz, D. (1995). Collaboration theory and Community Tourism Planning. Annals of Tourism Research 22 (1), 186-204.

Plummer, R. and Fitzgibbon, J. (2004). Co-Management of Natural Resources: A Proposed Framework. Environmental Management 33 (6), 876-885.

Sharpley, R. and Telfer, D. (2002). Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues. Clevedon: Channel View Publications.