All of you have seen this list before, which lists the eight things travelers do before, during, and after they go on a trip. They are:
— Obtain Information.
— Select a destination.
— Make Reservations.
— Use Transport.
— Use accommodations.
— Eat food.
— Participate in entertainment and/or activities.
— Share the experience.
The list is also a way of summarizing what this giant industry does to make a living: it makes travel-related information available; offers destinations to choose from; provides a way to make reservations; offers transportation choices; accommodation choices; food choices, entertainment and activities. The tourist comes back home with a lot of experiences to share.
The focus of this year’s research, community tourism, covers a number of these steps.
Community tourism involves culture, wildlife, fauna, rituals, resources –the many and varied elements that a community can offer a visitor. It includes eco-tourism, cultural tourism, sustainable tourism, etc. Each community has its own version of community tourism. There is enormous variation around the world.
One organization, Responsible Travel, defines community tourism in the following way:
“A community by definition implies individuals with some kind of collective responsibility, and the ability to make decisions by representative bodies.
Community based tourism is tourism in which local residents (often rural, poor and economically marginalised) invite tourists to visit their communities with the provision of overnight accommodation.
The residents earn income as land managers, entrepreneurs, service and produce providers, and employees. At least part of the tourist income is set aside for projects which provide benefits to the community as a whole.
Community based tourism enables the tourist to discover local habitats and wildlife, and celebrates and respects traditional cultures, rituals and wisdom. The community will be aware of the commercial and social value placed on their natural and cultural heritage through tourism, and this will foster community based conservation of these resources.
The tourist accommodation and facilities will be of sufficient standard for Western visitors, albeit those expecting simple rural accommodation. The community will be required to have continuous access to a phone (which might be required for medical assistance) and daily access to email (which will be required by operators to confirm bookings). “ [Source: https://www.responsibletravel.com/copy/what-is-community-based-tourism]
Your case study should focus on finding out what “community tourism” means in your local area or country, and should assess what is working well, what might need improving, and what the impact of community tourism is.
Before You Begin Your Research
Be sure to read the article on How to Write a Good Case Study in the Guidelines for the Research Award.
Initial Information Sources
https://www.wttc.org WTTC (The World Travel and Tourism Council) is probably the single largest source of reports on the economic and social impact of the industry. It publishes 24 regional reports, 184 country reports as well as a global report. It also publishes important reports on major issues that affect the industry and organizes conferences.
www.travelmole.com TravelMole.com and TravelMole.TV publish 15 enewsletters and broadcast videos to over 450,000 travel & tourism industry professionals and subscribers as well as 30 million consumers in 132 countries.
www.skift.com Skift means “shift” or “transformation” in the three Nordic languages. This online publication’s mission is to be “the daily homepage of the global travel industry.” It offers news, research and opinion, specialist newsletters, and organizes industry-related conferences.
http://gttp.org/partners/ Go the GTTP website and see what our Global Partners are doing; they are all involved in some way with supporting events.