Building community capacity for tourism development: conclusions.

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AbstractThis concluding chapter identifies the key themes that emerge from the chapters by summarizing the key outcomes of the research, reviews and case studies presented, and by suggesting issues for further analysis and consideration. Five important and recurring themes across all the sections and chapters are: community capacity for tourism development is about community capacity for development in general; there is a need to better understand the processes that result in tourism impacts; while community-based tourism and ecotourism have not on the whole been as effective or sustainable as promised, they still hold the greatest potential for many regions; the importance of tourism development knowledge generation and management; and the critical role of social capital in community capacity and sustainable development. A new model that ensures that destination communities have the capacity to make informed decisions about tourism and benefits more directly from tourism opportunities is proposed. This proposed extension to tourism planning includes four major additional steps: enhancing community awareness and understanding of tourism; comparing tourism against a range of other development options rather than considering it in isolation; explicitly making a choice to develop, or further develop, tourism; and building community capacity to benefit from and manage proposed tourism options identified in the strategic planning for tourism. It is argued that tourism must be considered within a larger sustainable development framework and assessed more directly in terms of its ability to contribute to community capacity in general. It has been suggested in several chapters in this book that measures of sustainability related to tourism should be expanded to include the extent to which tourism contributes to various elements of community capacity such as social capital, development awareness and skills for development management. In the broader literature on corporate social responsibility it has been noted that businesses need to demonstrate the extent to which they contribute to and enhance the social, intellectual and creative capital of their key stakeholders. Such discussions have yet to be initiated in tourism, although the idea of a fifth tourism platform based around a consideration of ethics provides a starting point. In conclusion, a consideration of aspects of community capacity and the link between tourism development and community capacity highlights the need to take a broader and more critical perspective on tourism in general and to place consideration of tourism more clearly within a broader sustainable development framework.