Community-based tourism in Asia.

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines evaluation criteria and steps towards community-based tourism (CBT) development to guide the development of more effective community tourism in Asia. The criteria to evaluate successful CBT suggested by the professionals were summarized into six main factors: (1) CBT should practically involve the broad community; (2) benefits gained from CBT should be distributed equally throughout the destination community; (3) good and careful management of tourism is significant; (4) CBT should have strong partnerships and support from within and outside a community; (5) uniqueness of the place should be considered to sustain the destination; and (6) environmental conservation should not be neglected. The second study examined the groups of decision makers, operators and visitors in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia with respect to their overall attitudes towards, and expectations of CBT and views on the future of CBT development. The stakeholders who participated in the present research reported that the 'community-centred' emphasis of the CBT concept was important. The surveyed stakeholders were also asked to prioritize nine steps recommended to develop CBT. While it is clear that CBT should involve and benefit destination communities, every community is unique and the challenge is to find ways which can lead each community to success. There is no one solution that fits all for CBT development and it is likely that successful applications in Europe may not be applicable for Asian communities. Of particular importance is the problem that communities must have an awareness of tourism to be able to decide about its development. Therefore, support from other involved stakeholders such as government or the private sector may be important for countries in Asia where some communities are still remote from education and communication. However, the hope that CBT could be an effective tool for Asian community development is not unrealistic, but there should be a better understanding of what positive and negative impacts may occur from tourism development.