Collaboration and Cultural Consent: Refocusing Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

Largely reflecting the wider sustainable development debate, the discourse of sustainable tourism has yet to significantly address the cultural basis that frames our perspectives on the central environment-economy relationship. Explanations are offered for why the cultural dimension of sustainable tourism has been largely under-emphasised. Collaboration, partnership and co-management with host communities and their cultures(s) has been an encouraging trend in the process of tourism development over recent years though it displays, and is structured around, localised inequalities and fundamental imbalances of power. The paper draws upon examples of 'indigenous tourism' to illustrate this. It argues that in the context of sustainable tourism, the processes of collaboration need to be considered as part of the wider sustainable development agenda that encourages cultural democracy as a legitimate policy goal in itself. Through the recognition of cultural diversity and the allocation of cultural rights, cultures should be in a stronger position not only to determine the form and extent of tourism development, but also to say 'no' to it altogether.