THE COMMUNITY APPROACH - DOES IT REALLY WORK

With the community again the focus of attention in the struggle against all manner of social ills it is perhaps time to reconsider the relationship between tourism development and the community dynamic. The involvement of local residents is often regarded as the key to sustainable development yet these same residents are expected to be part of the tourism product and to share the benefits as well as they will inevitably share the costs. The ethic of local involvement is not challenged but this kind of communitarianism may represent a highly romanticized view of communal responsiveness. The control of tourism by players within the community and the pressure to increase visitor numbers could seek to widen community differences as well as creating another destination stereotype. As far as the community is concerned the 'insider approach' to tourism development may be just as problematic as anything else.