Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
15
The Unsustainability of Community
Tourism Donor Projects:
Lessons from Zambia
Louise M. Dixey
Introduction
Community tourism has grown significantly in popularity, often as part of
community conservation strategies aiming to reduce poverty and increase biodi-
versity conservation. Indeed, the approach has been elevated to such an extent
that it has become a 'privileged solution', in that debate about the merits and
demerits of community tourism is limited in official discourses. There is a rising
number of practitioners and academics, however, warning of a high failure rate
and stressing the need for more rigorous analysis and accountability. This chapter
introduces international developments, reviews critical appraisals and reflects on
empirical findings in Zambia that are relevant elsewhere in the world where
donors are funding community tourism projects. The author asserts that experi-
ences in Zambia and other destinations have demonstrated that community
tourism is challenging, complex and precarious to develop and that it will only be
a useful development tool if lessons learnt are assimilated - particularly the need
for a market orientation. It is also important to acknowledge that community
tourism is likely to remain on the margins of the industry and therefore it has
limited potential in terms of pro-poor tourism development. The challenge is to
mainstream approaches to harness tourism for poverty reduction so practitioners
must respond to emerging opportunities in policy with more dynamic approaches
and demonstrated results.
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