Examining the relationship between social capital and community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations

A thorough understanding of the influencing factors and mechanisms of community resilience in tourism destinations is vital not only for recovery after disasters but also for strengthening the adaptive capacity of community residents to manage sudden change. This study aims to investigate the roles of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital in enhancing community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. Based on data derived from a survey of 691 residents of China's Dujiangyan scenic areas and Jiuzhai Valley National Park, this study used structural equation modeling to test the relationship between community residents' perceived social capital and resilience in tourism destinations. The findings suggest that the three types of social capital have significantly positive effects on community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. In China's centralized political system, linking social capital is the most important type of social capital in community disaster recovery. An interaction effect between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital is found. This study's results help managers and community residents cultivate social capital, improve community resilience and maintain sustainable tourism development.     

Ecotourism resilience to climate change in Dana Biosphere Reserve,Jordan

Increasingly tourism destinations worldwide have to face the threats associated with climate change. Because of these threats, there is a growing need to develop and reinforce the adaptive capacity of tourism systems to cope with current and future challenges. In tourism studies, resilience assessments are a relatively new approach used to ascertain stakeholders’ opinions regarding the human and natural conditions that are likely to increase the capacity of the tourism system to successfully cope with disturbances. This study examined local communities in and around Dana Biosphere Reserve (Jordan), specifically perspectives regarding the social, environmental, governance and economic dimensions of resilience that theoretically support the capacity of the ecotourism system to withstand or adapt to climate change. The results indicated perceived moderate resilience to climate-change-related threats in the environment dimensions of the study, and scope for further development of resilience in the social, economic and governance dimensions. Ultimately, further adaptation planning and policies appear necessary, to ensure robust and proactive measures are in place to respond to climate change threats and to protect the ecotourism socio-ecological system in Dana Biosphere Reserve.     

Ecotourism and indigenous micro-enterprise formation in northern Australia opportunities and constraints

Indigenous Australians suffer considerable social and economic disadvantage. The challenge for Indigenous communities and policy makers is to discover or create opportunities that will provide sustainable development. Tourism is seen as one sector that could possibly provide such opportunities. Indigenous tourism enterprises are in most situations likely to be micro businesses. Micro businesses, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, have relatively high failure rates so it is important to undertake substantial planning to avoid failure. This paper presents the results of a planning process undertaken by an Indigenous clan planning to operate their own ecotourism micro-enterprise within Ngukurr, an Indigenous community in northern Australia. The study highlights the fact tourism does provide potential for economic development because Indigenous enterprises often have some competitive advantages. In addition, the study highlights the fact that communities often do not have the capacity to undertake all the tasks necessary to establish and operate a commercially successful ecotourism enterprise. Partnerships with other stakeholders within the region can help overcome this constraint. Finally, it is noted that the CDEP scheme has the potential to satisfy the need for funds that cannot be satisfied through normal channels.     

Co-flourishing: Intertwining community resilience and tourism development in destination communities

This paper contributes to the understanding of community resilience in tourism development in the destination community. Accordingly, we propose a ‘co-flourishing’ framework integrating community resilience and tourism development by mobilising six types of community capital – human, social, natural, physical, financial, and psychological – which strengthen community capacity during disturbances or crises. We argue that the existing understanding of the tourism system tends to be resource-driven and market-oriented. Such approaches neglect the needs of the destination community, which should have adequate resources for its goal of providing a good life for its members. We first review the six forms of community capital and their implications for community resilience, and argue that tourism development has a negative impact on various kinds of community capital – particularly in destination communities. Hence, we propose a co-flourishing framework which advocates a paradigm change in tourism development to cater to the capital needs of the community. The proposed framework highlights practical long-term policy suggestions for tourism development and planning. We identify further necessary research is needed to accumulate empirical evidence to better apply the co-flourishing framework in various development scenarios in both developing and developed economies.     

The role of social capital in encouraging residents' pro-environmental behaviors in community-based ecotourism

This study integrated the theoretical perspective of social capital into community-based ecotourism (CBET). Two destinations were selected to test the conceptual model to see whether social capital improves cooperation between community residents and the coordination of CBET development, and whether its role is persuasive and encourages residents' pro-environmental behaviors. The sample consisted of 420 residents living in two typical ecotourism destinations in China. Findings from a two-stage structural equation model analysis show that economic benefits have a direct impact on residents' pro-environmental behaviors; and the cognitive, rather than structural social capital has a partially mediating effects on this relationship. These findings indicate that a high level of social capital, particularly the cognitive variant, is instrumental in encouraging residents' pro-environmental behaviors.     

Social capital: An investment towards community resilience in the collaborative natural resources management of community-based tourism schemes

Community-based tourism projects appear to be the most favoured option for enhancing community livelihoods through the collaborative management of communal natural resources in land reformed areas in South Africa. A case study approach was adopted to establish the role of social capital in building community resilience through the management of common pool natural resources. Using the assemblages and systemic-resilience theories, this paper establishes which relationships between social capital and community resilience are best for pursuing successful community-based tourism schemes. Lessons were drawn from Somkhanda Community Game Reserve in the Gumbi community, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The paper identifies three main community resilience shocks: governance, financial and skills. It notes that strong social capital can promote the realisation of community resilience in communal natural resources management. It further points to the need for avoiding environmental romanticisation, as there is a need to focus on the complexities involved in managing communal natural resources in land reformed communities.     

Assessing ecotourism in an Indigenous community: using,testing and proving the wheel of empowerment framework as a measurement tool

Many of the issues confronting Indigenous peoples result from disempowered communities. Conversely, where communities are empowered, usually as a consequence of landownership, they are able to actively participate in, and benefit from, economic activities such as tourism. In this study, a framework titled the wheel of empowerment framework is used to demonstrate how the level of empowerment/disempowerment in five dimensions can be measured. The dimensions tested are economic, psychological, social, political and environmental. Indicators to measure the level of empowerment for each dimension were developed in a three-stage research process commencing with semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, followed by focus groups with community members from Coba, a Mayan village located near Cancun in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Appropriate indicators were identified and used to assess community levels of empowerment. Results show that the ability of communities to develop sustainable ecotourism businesses requires support from external stakeholders including governments and the private sector as well as internal stakeholders including the local community and importantly from community leaders. The results also show that empowered communities are able to derive considerable social and economic benefits from ecotourism business ventures and make a positive contribution to the ongoing maintenance of sustainability of their local environment.     

Examining the Linkages of Community Intervention Strategies and Destination Quality of Ecotourism Destinations

Local communities are considered as a stockholder of an ecotourism programs particularly protected area (PA)-based destinations. The purpose of the study is to develop a model of community intervention strategies (CIS) in PA-based ecotourism tourism destinations and to examine the contribution of CIS toward destination quality (DQ). Study adopted exploratory sequential method and administered focus group discussion and expert interview followed by questionnaire survey. Measurement models were drawn with AMOS 22 and employed WarpPLS 6.0 for structural model. The study result indicates that there are three dimensions for CIS, and the quality variables have a strong presence in these destinations. However, the study could not establish a significant and positive relationship between CIS and DQ. Subsequently, investigator adopted a participant observation method and identified local specific reasons such as changes in general consciousness, intervention of related departments and nongovernmental organizations, and destination life cycle, for the same. Study assumes significance in the context of community-based ecotourism programs and indicates the need for strengthening community collaboration for quality destinations. Study extends scope for further research in measuring other perceived linkages of CIS with destination sustainability and quality of community life.     

Social capital and entrepreneurial mobility in early-stage tourism development: A case from rural China

Early-stage tourism destinations often seek external capital to establish, invest and participate in tourism businesses at various levels. Entrepreneurial mobility at these destinations is thus an important phenomenon in need of further exploration both empirically and theoretically. This study uses an early-stage destination in rural China as a case to explore the experiences of inward entrepreneurial migrants in tourism development and associates their mobility, geographical and organisational, with dimensions of social capital, including institutional support, community openness and personal social networks. Primary interview data were collected from inward tourism entrepreneurs, key local community members and government officials related to tourism projects. The findings suggest that the inward entrepreneurs had unrealistic perceptions of the tourism industry before they entered. Entrepreneurial mobility in tourism development is influenced by all three social capital dimensions. The integration with the locality enhances the potential contribution of entrepreneurial mobility to tourism development.     

Tourism and community resilience in the Anthropocene: accentuating temporal overtourism

Abstract

Global tourism growth is unprecedented. Consequently, this has elevated the sector as a key plank for economic development, and its utility is deeply embedded in political, economic and social-ecological discourse. Where the expansion of the sector leverages natural and cultural landscapes, this applies pressure to social and ecological underpinnings that if not reconciled, can become problematic. The way this plays out in Australia’s Shipwreck Coast and the wider Great Ocean Road region, especially the implications for community resilience, is the focus. Emphasis is placed on the vulnerability of peripheral coastal areas to development that withdraws from destination endowments, yet fails to provide commensurate economic yield as a suitable trade-off. This is obvious where tourism intensification has led to concerns about the breach of normative carrying capacities. Temporal overtourism driven by seasonal overcrowding is countenanced as emblematic of tourism in the Anthropocene where focus tends to be largely growth-oriented, with much less attention given to bolstering social-ecological resilience, especially community resilience. At stake is the resilience of regional areas and their communities, who in the absence of garnering commensurate economic returns from tourism expansion find themselves in social and ecological deficit.     

Indigenous ecotourism in the Mayan rainforest of Palenque: empowerment issues in sustainable development

Indigenous ecotourism in the Mayan rainforest has received little research attention. This study examines issues related to the level of empowerment in a Mayan village located near the Palenque World Heritage Site in southern Mexico. An adapted empowerment framework was used to assess community empowerment and its relationship with stakeholders’ participation by collecting the views of internal and external stakeholders in indigenous ecotourism. Using a checklist of 60 empowerment indicators, the study developed a wheel of empowerment tool that graphically illustrates and compares levels of empowerment/disempowerment in local communities. Results indicate that although there is a will from many villagers to participate in tourism, lack of knowledge, limited economic resources and the poor negotiation skills of local leaders have disempowered the community from undertaking ecotourism ventures. Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have not supported the community until recently, the private sector has played little part, and while the Mexican government is shaping the course of indigenous ecotourism with support programmes, state agencies have resisted local ecotourism development. Overall, the community fell below the midpoint on the Wheel of Empowerment Scale. These findings show a need for more effective empowerment strategies to maximise community involvement in managing cultural and natural resources for tourism development.     

Resident perceptions of social–ecological resilience and the sustainability of community-based tourism development in the Commonwealth of Dominica

Despite major investments in community-based tourism to diversify economies, reduce poverty and improve life quality in the Caribbean, little is known about what conditions lead to resilience and sustainability. Sustainability from a resilience theory perspective is the likelihood an existing system of resource use will persist indefinitely without a decline in social and natural resource bases. Undertaking activities to enhance resilience and sustainability improves a system's ability to persevere, adapt and learn to meet challenges from unanticipated economic, political or natural events. This study investigated six communities in the Commonwealth of Dominica, all part of a seven-year community tourism program, and examined residents' perceptions of the social, institutional, economic and ecological resilience of their community, and therefore the resilience and sustainability of community tourism development. It used a new scale using eight steps suggested by Devellis' scale development methodology. Data indicated moderate to low resilience in all four domains across the communities. This suggests that communities should invest in strengthening social bonds, developing capacity in local institutions, in diversifying the tourism product and controlling infrastructure development. Indicators measuring trust, networks, local control, flexible governance, leakage prevention and controlled infrastructure development emerged as important in assessing social–ecological resilience and sustainability.     

Political challenges in community-based ecotourism

This paper applies the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) to explore the development of ecotourism in a Taiwanese community after a major earthquake. The study employs interviews with different NGO groups and residents, participant-observation and documentary analysis. Through a political economy lens, the study examines the social and political influences on, and the social and political consequences of, ecotourism development. Results reveal insights into political elements of the community asset base, calling for its inclusion in the existing model. The paper illustrates the challenges of ecotourism development and recognises the importance of attention to differing values if it is to be considered as a sustainable livelihood option in vulnerable communities. In particular we critique the positions of both existing power structures and NGOs, often envisioned as “experts” in the tourism governance process. In this case the imposition of various political values led to failures in inclusivity, particularly in terms of goal setting, empowerment, leadership, organisational fragmentation and benefit sharing, all of which are important principles of sustainability. Greater attention to the political nature of community-based tourism through the revised SLA model could reduce the many documented cases of hosts being merely objects of development, rather than active subjects.     

Issues in measuring success in community-based Indigenous tourism: elites,kin groups,social capital,gender dynamics and income flows

Tourism development is a key feature of the neoliberal economic development model. Through a mix of state and private investment, Indigenous communities in Mexico are encouraged to transform local cultural and environmental resources into tourist consumption sites. The process results in a shift toward reliance on tourism, in place of farming, leaving households with few alternative earning strategies amidst fluctuating tourist arrivals and income, confounding the relationship between tourism and sustainability and questioning the utility of tourism as a sustainable tool for development. This article analyses a community-based Indigenous tourism project in a rural Maya village in Mexico's Yucatan, and discusses strategies employed at household level to navigate the arrival of tourism. Funding agencies assessed this project based on a triple bottom line metric that accounts for ecological health, financial sustainability, and its relationship to local social capital; however, these fail to account for differences between local and non-local conceptions of authenticity, indigeneity, and success. From a social perspective, the project has exacerbated existing tensions and has arguably widened the gap between the politically and economically powerful and less powerful, marginalized families in the community. Questions about policy, governance systems, and elite domination and kin group control are raised.     

Resilience and sustainability: a complementary relationship? Towards a practical conceptual model for the sustainability–resilience nexus in tourism

“Sustainability” has endured as an important concept for tourism scholars, and volumes have been written about how to achieve this holy grail of the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism destinations are often promoted as the ethical choice for discerning travellers, with some marketers taking full advantage of the widely acknowledged ambiguities implicit in the term. More recently “resilience” has generated appeal in the academic tourism literature as a term that might capture core aspects of sustainability, while acknowledging the considerable influences that multiple contexts have on the capacity of communities to adapt and ultimately sustain their tourism enterprises. The resilience concept encompasses an inclusive and integrative “social ecological systems” approach which gives it a firm interdisciplinary underpinning in its application in tourism. While in a tourism context sustainability and resilience are kindred terms, relatively little scholarly effort has been committed to a critical treatment of these concepts. Addressing this deficiency, we present a conceptual model to discuss the relationship between sustainability and resilience in tourism. Drawing on examples from New Zealand's nature-based tourism sector, this conceptual paper explores the insights that a critical treatment of the sustainability–resilience nexus might offer both academics and practitioners in the field of tourism studies.     

Stakeholder collaboration as a major factor for sustainable ecotourism development in developing countries

Ecotourism has been widely championed by academics and practitioners as a potential contributor of conservation and development. However, others have questioned whether sustainability goals can be achieved through this form of tourism. Of the various factors reported in the literature as hindering the success of ecotourism, the lack of effective stakeholder collaboration features prominently. This study draws upon stakeholder and collaboration theories and on triple-bottom-line principles, to investigate the contributions of stakeholder collaborations to sustainable ecotourism. The researchers adopted an exploratory research design and conducted stakeholder in-depth interviews and focus group discussions between 2016 and 2018. The findings revealed poor interactions and collaborations amongst ecotourism stakeholders. Consequently, ecotourism in Southern Ethiopia accelerates the degradation of natural resources, neglecting communities while benefiting other ecotourism stakeholders. Therefore, in poorly resourced and remote destinations, failure to empower and participate communities undermines ecotourism and jeopardizes the long-term survival of ecosystems and communities themselves.     

Local perspectives of ecotourism development in Tawushan Nature Reserve, Taiwan

This paper examines local responses to potential ecotourism development in the Tawushan Nature Reserve located in southeastern Taiwan. Community attitude and intention toward four dimensions of ecotourism, including conservation of natural resources, preservation of cultural tradition, sustainable community development, and participation in ecotourism planning and management, were measured. Furthermore, the paper examines whether or not there is congruence between community attitude and intention toward ecotourism development. Analysis is based on data collected using face-to-face questionnaire interviews in two indigenous communities consisting primarily of the Paiwan ethnic group. The study findings show that local people hold generally positive views of the measures necessary to achieve ecotourism; however, their intentions to engage in behaviors to support these measures do not entirely match with their positive views. This suggests that while local residents may support ecotourism development based on international guidelines, their intentions to act will depend on local environmental, social, and politico-economic conditions. It is suggested that issues related to community empowerment, relationship between government and communities, value conflicts introduced by ecotourism development, and the dynamics among and between various community groups will need to be addressed if positive community intention to participate in ecotourism is to be encouraged.     

Indigenous self-representations in the touristic sphere

This paper draws on decolonial theorizing to explore how Indigenous groups self-represent on official tourism websites. The findings indicate a juxtaposition of narrative patterns related to struggle and cultural pride, salutation to tourists and code of ethics which highlight contradistinctions between non-Indigenous and Indigenous touristscapes. The examined texts foreground decolonial frames through which the politics of representation allow for reclaiming of the colonial past to affirm identity, showcase resistance, and highlight the agentic power of Indigenous cultural custodians. This study centers the voices of Indigenous communities, by moving beyond narratives of victimization and oppression, to illustrate agentic power. This study offers an opportunity for linkages between tourism and global debates on social justice for Indigenous Peoples.     

Who wins and who loses? Unpacking the “local people” concept in ecotourism: a longitudinal study of community equity in Ankarana,Madagascar

Tourism in the Ankarana protected area, Madagascar, has increased since the early 1990s, linked to growing national and donor interest in conservation and ecotourism. Using a qualitative and longitudinal approach, this analysis focuses on the social impacts of tourist intensification, comparing and contrasting communities on either side of the protected area. As tourist numbers have increased, infrastructure to accommodate them has developed and tour guiding has professionalized. In this process, the locus of tourism shifted from the loosely organized, “grassroots” tourism of the western side of Ankarana to the organized, externally financed, easy-access tourism of the eastern side, with both environmental and social consequences. The paper argues that a concentration and professionalization of ecotourism services within a region can marginalize neighboring human communities even though not necessarily leading to increased overall environmental degradation. It contributes to tourism studies by engaging a political ecology approach to unpack the concept of “local people” through a multi-community study of the ripple effects of ecotourism within its immediately surrounding areas. This study of community equity acknowledges the need for balanced evaluations of tourism's effects. It also recognizes the value of nuanced empirical studies for planning to meet goals of location-specific environmental and socioeconomic sustainability.     

Rethinking social impacts of tourism research: A new research agenda

Understanding the social impacts of tourism on communities is extremely important for government at all levels so that action can be taken to reduce the likelihood of a community backlash against tourists and tourism development. Given that the residents of many tourism destinations are a fundamental part of the tourism ‘product’, resident attitudes and behaviour have a sizable impact on the success or otherwise of a destination. Research on the social impacts of tourism on communities is substantial and ongoing and while advances have been made in the area, the research has not addressed some of the deep seated issues faced by tourist destinations. This paper provides a critique of the social impact of tourism literature, highlighting the inadequacies in the research that has been conducted to date, which then leads to the development of a new conceptual framework. The paper traces the key developments in social impact research and argues that the predominance of quantitative methods potentially limits our ability to gain a more in-depth understanding of the impacts and how they influence both the host community and tourists. The paper finds that the quantitative focus from previous social impact research has led to a narrow understanding of the issues surrounding social impacts and proposes a new research agenda based on ‘layers’ of social impact understanding through the use of ethnography or phenomenology. The paper concludes with recommendations to progress social impact research beyond simply describing the issues towards explanations of why they occur by suggesting that social impact research examine, in greater depth, the values and intrinsic characteristics of the host residents.