A model of community-based tourism for sustainable rural development

Abstract

Community-based tourism (CBT) presents both opportunities and challenges for holistic community development, especially in rural areas, where initiatives are urgently needed to create opportunities for all. CBT has been promoted as one of the poverty-reduction strategies that could improve the sustainability of marginalised regions and communities. The contribution of this paper is to propose a comprehensive CBT model for sustainable rural development, based on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 24 participants drawn from Nqileni village in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. The respondents were asked about the development of tourism in the area. The results showed that community members considered their involvement in tourism development initiatives to be of utmost importance. Moreover, community members indicated that sustainable tourism was creating socioeconomic benefits by preserving the village's environmental and cultural integrity.