Cooperation or confrontation? Exploring stakeholder relationships in rural tourism land expropriation

Abstract

The current study explored the triadic relationship between the government, local residents and developers as stakeholders in rural tourism land expropriation. Unstructured interviews and non-participant observation were conducted to obtain relevant data. Social action theory was applied to delineate the complex interaction and relationships between the various stakeholders. Growth machine theory was also used to reveal the internal mechanisms of these relationships. The results showed that in land expropriation for rural tourism development in the case setting, stakeholders’ relationships were not merely cooperative or antagonistic; rather, their interests were interwoven and showed a process-based evolution with the progress of land expropriation. Finally, the local government (political elite) and the developer (economic elite) formed a growth coalition and jointly led the process of land expropriation. However, local residents failed to form an anti-growth coalition, which indicates the potential vulnerability of tourism coalition formation. These insights have implications for developing sustainable tourism, including government involvement and resident participation, particularly in the context of developing countries.