The State of Tourism and Community Development Research and Future Directions

Abstract

Tourism is often considered as a vehicle for community development and poverty alleviation and it is recognized as an off-farm activity that is key in generating revenue and providing employment for poor rural and urban residents and promoting economic growth in those communities. Community-based tourism has been advanced as a bottom-up strategy that encourages more just and equitable benefits for local communities to meet their household needs. Despite tourism's potentials in community development, this is a contested topic and needs both theoretical and applied research. This article provides an overview of tourism and community development research and offers future directions. With articles from across the globe, this special issue brings to the fore achievements as well as challenges experienced in different settings as different stakeholders engage in tourism with a view to develop host communities. Eleven articles published in the special issue highlight theoretical, practical, and policy implications and therefore have the potential to advance knowledge in the field. This volume contributes to the tourism and community development discourse by providing diverse theoretical and empirical pieces of research work that will provide knowledge, inform practitioners, community development planners, and policy makers in their efforts to assist destination communities, in both the Global North and the Global South, to use tourism resources and attractions in a sustainable manner to improve their livelihoods.