Studies on the Role of Local People in Ecotourism Development


2.2.2.5. Studies on the role of local people in ecotourism development

Community participation is a bottom-up approach to promote the activeness and initiative of local people by empowering them to participate in ecotourism development and help bring socio-economic benefits, improve the quality of life, and ensure prosperity for the community (Mensah et al., 2013). Local people are considered the "core" component participating in ecotourism development because they are both the "ideal" human resources to satisfy tourists (more than anyone else, they are the ones who understand the characteristics of nature, history, culture... of the locality and can bring tourists new knowledge and experiences); at the same time, their unique cultural values ​​will be an important and indispensable part of ecotourism products.

The participation of local people in tourism has been mentioned in many studies such as: Arnstein (1969), Hollsteiner (1977), Cohen and Ufford (1980), Ashley and Roe's (1998), Tosun (1999, 2000, 2006), Kumar (2002), Zommorodian (2013), ... The level of community participation will be associated with the benefits brought to them. The higher the participation, the greater the level of initiative and direct interaction, the more empowered they will be and the more closely linked to political factors because they have power in their hands, use power to distribute or access, use, exploit, manage, and control resources (Heywood, 2007).

Studies by Ziffer (1989), Norris (1994), Honey (1999), Scheyvens (1999); Fennell (2001), Wood (2002), Campbell (2002), Kiss (2004), Langoya and Long (2007), Yacod et al. (2007)... show that to be successful in developing ecotourism, there must be the participation of local people and ensure political, economic, cultural - social and environmental benefits for the community . Although natural resources are the essential factor in forming ecotourism, the difference between ecotourism and other types of tourism based on nature is that it must have cultural values ​​and the participation of local people.

The role of local people in ecotourism development is reflected in the following aspects: Local people must participate in ecotourism with levels of participation from passive, active to automatic (Tosun, 2006); participate as employees, service staff and at a higher level as direct managers and decision makers (Scheyvens, 1999; Wood, 2002; Telfer and Sharpley, 2008; Wearing and Neil, 2009); participate partly in the provision of tourism products and services or as owners of business establishments, providing tourism services; participate in cooperation in volunteer activities, consulting, supporting nature conservation, environmental protection and community projects through ecotourism development (Ashley and Roe's, 1998); participate in all stages of the ecotourism development process; direct and indirect participation (Tosun and Timothy, 2003; Kencana et al., 2015).


Previous studies often mentioned the purpose of developing ecotourism to bring economic, cultural - social and environmental benefits to the community, including factors such as: promoting the local economy, creating jobs, increasing income for individuals/households, reducing poverty, increasing people's pride in the values ​​of resources and culture in the community, helping them change their awareness and behavior in protecting the environment and traditional culture . These benefits can be enjoyed by people when participating directly or indirectly. Recently, there have been some studies interested in the role of local people as those who directly own, manage, make decisions and control the development of ecotourism in the locality. Thereby, emphasizing the benefits of bringing prestige, voice and contributing to enhancing their "political status" in the community as well as ensuring sustainable development in the future. These studies introduce a new concept: community-based ecotourism. There are many debates about the concept and characteristics of community-based ecotourism, but these views have something in common (Kiss, 2004; Nelson, 2004; Boonzaaier and Philip, 2007; O'Neill, 2008): promoting the direct role of ownership, control and benefit of local people in ecotourism development . In fact, the nature of community-based ecotourism is still ecotourism. The difference is the emphasis on the role of participation at a higher level of the community. Thus, community-based ecotourism is a form of ecotourism that focuses on social relationships, improves the effectiveness of community participation, enhances the role, responsibility, status and level of benefits of local people (Campbell, 2002; Kiss, 2004). Therefore, the effectiveness (output) in ecotourism development today not only focuses on socio-economic and environmental aspects but also political benefits are given more attention.

Thus, participation from the normal level to the highest level of participation in management, control, ownership of resources and activities in the process of ecotourism development can bring great benefits not only to the socio-economic, environmental, and welfare of the community but also to the stakeholders and in particular, empowerment will help enhance the position, voice and right to enjoy political benefits for local people (Salafsky and Wollenberg; 2000; Sultana, 2009).

2.2.3. Factors measuring the benefits of local people in ecotourism development

The main goal of ecotourism development is to bring direct benefits to local people; therefore, to develop ecotourism, local people must participate at levels from "passive" to "active" and rise to "automatic" when they have the capacity to control and manage. However, Wood (2002) also stated that in reality, it is difficult to expect the community to be able to fully participate at the level of management and control in ecotourism development.


According to Langoya and Long (1997), when participating in ecotourism, local people can enjoy benefits such as: increasing income, restoring traditional handicraft production, attracting investment projects for social welfare, training and fostering human resources, enhancing responsibility for environmental protection, resolving conflicts over exploitation and management of resources. Later, Yacod et al. (2007) summarized: the benefits of ecotourism development are economic benefits (improving employment and income), cultural - social benefits (preserving traditional cultural values ​​and lifestyles of local people) and environmental benefits. Since 1999, Scheyvens has discovered that ecotourism development not only has the above benefits but also gives the community the right to enjoy added value in economic, cultural - social and political rights. This view was supported by Musavengane and Matikiti (2015) when the authors, after reviewing previous research works, came to the conclusion: The benefits of ecotourism are not only "limited" to the economic aspect, improving the lives of local people, but also "extend" to political, environmental and other cultural and social benefits.

Thus, from the perspective of what local people receive when participating in ecotourism development, it can be seen that: the benefits of local people in ecotourism development are the values ​​that local people benefit from in terms of politics, economy, culture - society and environment . More specifically, these benefits are expressed through the following aspects:

According to Scheyvens (1999), Jones (2005), political benefits (political benefits/political empowerment) are people being able to participate in giving opinions and solving common problems fairly, having a voice in making decisions in common forums of the community . Foucat (2002), Musavengane (2017) also pointed out that political benefits are to enhance the role of community participation in state agencies and the right to access and use resources. Tran and Walter (2014) emphasized that the political benefits of local people in developing ecotourism are to empower people fairly and equally and there must be action policies to promote the guarantee of these rights for them.

Economic benefits are material benefits (converted to money, goods, assets, etc.) that reflect the objective purpose and motivation of the community when participating in ecotourism development. These benefits can motivate people's participation, contributing to increasing social capital for the community. At the same time, when social capital increases, it will also affect other benefits in ecotourism development (Liu et al., 2014). The most direct economic benefits are increased tourism-related job opportunities, improved income and upgraded infrastructure for local people (Scheyvens, 1999, Ross and Wall, 1999; Watkin, 2003; Yacod et al., 2007; Kiper et al., 2011; Eshun and Tonto, 2014). According to Foucat (2002), the exploitation and use of resources for ecotourism development and the right to use land will bring economic benefits, directly creating the main source of income for local people. However, because economic benefits can cause damage


For the environment, the development of ecotourism must follow the principles of responsible tourism and encourage conservation.

According to Yacod et al. (2007) , social and cultural benefits are the preservation of traditional cultural values ​​and lifestyles of indigenous people, including tangible values ​​such as cultural relics, history, architecture, handicraft products... or intangible values ​​such as religion, rituals, art, music, dance... Not only that, social and cultural benefits also bring other values: investing in education and raising awareness for the community, attracting community projects, promoting cooperation among community members and connecting society into a network (Foucat, 2002; Watkin, 2003; Kiper et al., 2011; Tran and Walter, 2014). Previously, Honey (1999), Scheyvens (1999) also pointed out that the socio-cultural benefits are to help the community connect and form social networks in developing ecotourism, contributing to social welfare (investing in building public works such as schools, hospitals, roads, electricity, water, cultural houses, libraries...). These benefits both improve infrastructure (economic benefits) and help improve people's knowledge and quality of life (social benefits), create jobs, reduce social negativity and increase pride in local resource values.

Environmental benefits are usually studied in terms of values ​​that are beneficial to the environment such as preventing actions that lead to environmental degradation and pollution, and conserving resources (Yacod et al., 2007). However, from the perspective of studying the benefits of local people in developing ecotourism, environmental benefits here are understood as helping local people raise awareness, attitudes towards environmental protection or have behaviors and initiatives towards environmental protection (Tran and Walter, 2014). Through doing ecotourism, people will change their thinking and act more responsibly towards the environment; this consequence is both beneficial for the surrounding environment and helps local people become responsible people and live in a clean, safe and sustainable environment. In terms of awareness and attitudes towards environmental protection, Liu et al. (2014) mentioned the factors: the community feels that the resource is related to them, supports more conservation policies and will act to protect the environment. At the level of environmental protection behaviors, Foucat (2002) mentioned the factors: knowing how to use resources sustainably and effectively, having a commitment to biodiversity conservation, commitment to wildlife conservation, waste treatment, limiting resource exploitation and actively restoring the living environment .

2.2.4. Studies on the impact of social capital on people's benefits

Local in ecotourism development

Studies from around 2000 onwards show that social capital is increasingly seen as an important factor in community development and benefits for local people. Close relationships between social capital and policy making, research and


The implementation of community-beneficial development plans and projects has been explored through a series of studies (Grant, 2001; Lin, 2001; Alston, 2002; Krishna, 2002;

Perkins et al., 2002; Flores and Rello 2003; Pretty, 2003; Rohe, 2004; Vidal, 2004; Lohmann and Lohmann, 2005; Iyer et al., 2005; Bridger and Alter 2006; Binswanger, 2007; Boyd et al., 2008; Hanna et al., 2009; Vermaak, 2009; Homan, 2011…).

According to Alston (2002); Binswanger (2007), Boyd et al. (2008): Social capital is formed based on the development cooperation of local people and the "assets" that people bring to exchange, cooperate and connect in those relationships is "trust". Social capital is considered as a resource, an "asset" of the community, increasing strength and possibly leading to the growth of other capital sources (Lohmann and Lohmann, 2005). Therefore, social capital brings benefits to the community and is especially necessary for communities with developing economies, other capital sources are not yet strong. If a community has "abundant" social capital resources, when making efforts to exploit and promote social capital through the process of building trust to develop cooperative relationships, linking inside and outside the community can also increase other types of capital that are still "weak" in the community (Homan, 2011). Strengthening social capital through building sustainable trust, close networks and establishing long-term cooperative relationships is the “key” to community development (Alston, 2002).

In recent decades, studies on the influence/role of social capital on the development of tourism as well as ecotourism have attracted the attention of many researchers, approaching both qualitative and quantitative research methods or combining both. Regardless of the approach, the common point of the studies is to assess the influence/role of social capital in the ability to improve cooperation between resident communities and coordination between stakeholders in the tourism development process to bring benefits to the community. An overview of these studies shows that social capital clearly affects the benefits of local people in ecotourism development and the influence of social capital on the benefits of local people in ecotourism development is a topic that needs to be further studied.

- Previous studies have demonstrated that social capital affects the benefits of local people in developing ecotourism through the following bases:

Firstly, social capital is formed from social networks, the “strength” of social capital is the quality of cooperative relationships and social networks (links within and outside the community) characterized by elements of trust, norms and reciprocal support to bring about common benefits (Macbeth et al., 2004). Social capital is considered an important resource in promoting economic development and improving the quality of life, increasing benefits for local people, because according to Drumm and Moore (2002) to develop ecotourism, effective cooperation of participants is needed and local people are identified as the “central” factor ensuring success in the network of links.


Such relationships aim to achieve the main goal of ecotourism development, which is to ensure that “resources are preserved” and “local people benefit”. To achieve these goals, the trust of local people in the local government and stakeholders (including mutual trust among community members) is necessary and mutual support, sharing, cooperation, and association for development can only be sustainable when these relationships are based on trust as well as a commitment to respecting the rules and norms of the community/society.

Second, in a community, if people have strong cooperation and are involved in social networks, that community will receive more benefits from tourism development than a community where people are not allowed to participate in cooperation or are limited in collective activities and do not have associations/social organizations to support local community development (Claiborne, 2010, table 2.3). A community with low social capital will "prevent" the achievement of people's goals and benefits in ecotourism development (Kamuti, 2014). Therefore, communities with high social capital will have more conditions, advantages and receive more benefits from tourism development.

Table 2.3: The role of VXH in community-based tourism development


Characteristic

of VXH

- Collaborative participation in a group/community

- There are activities that bring common benefits to each individual and collective.

Factors

composition

- Connection, social network

- Norms, trust, reciprocity, exchange and sharing


MQH Types

in VXH

- Bonding relationships in the community or with acquaintances who have something in common.

- Bridging MQH with external communities (which may not be familiar and through an intermediary MQH).

- Linking with (state) agencies/social (non-governmental) organizations

external stakeholders (government) outside the community that influence the community's development potential and policies.

Mechanism of creation

so VXH

Relationship based on trust -> Exchange and sharing -> Respect for rules,

common standards -> Cooperation, networking of groups inside and outside the community.

Benefits (outputs) of social capital for community development

copper

- People can participate, exchange initiatives and have a voice in

more group activities

- People are cared for, supported and shared

- Increase social interactions in various forms

(including cooperation between competitors).

- Promote interaction and activities of members to create

common interests (economic, social, environmental...) of the community.

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Studies on the Role of Local People in Ecotourism Development

Source: Claiborne, 2010 developed from Pretty, 2003; Vidal, 2004; Jones 2005; Okazaki, 2008


- The impacts of social capital on the benefits of local people in developing ecotourism is a topic that needs further research for the following reasons:

Firstly , ecotourism is a type of responsible tourism, associated with the goal of sustainable development (Stronza and Gordillo, 2008; Wearing and Neil, 2009). However, in practice, ecotourism development still has many barriers and negative aspects affecting both economic, cultural - social and environmental aspects due to the influence of many different factors such as the limited operational capacity, management organization of ecotourism organizations/enterprises and may not ensure compliance with the principles and requirements in ecotourism development; the lack of investment resources to support and promote the development of ecotourism such as financial capital, human capital/people, production capital/technical infrastructure... (Das and Chatterjee, 2015). In addition, shortcomings in the process of forming and "nurturing" social capital resources from the close relationship between stakeholders; In particular, the relationship between local people and the government, tourism suppliers, and NGOs in the role of consultants, supporters, and investors in ecotourism development projects associated with conservation and assistance to local people (Wu, 2012; Baksh et al., 2013) has not been adequately addressed, leading to the development of ecotourism and the benefits for local people when they participate in ecotourism not achieving the expected results. To provide more guidance and suggestions for making proposals for truly sustainable ecotourism development, it is necessary to continue to conduct research on factors affecting ecotourism development and the benefits of local people in different contexts. Social capital is one of the factors that has a close relationship with the perspective of sustainable tourism development, contributing to increasing benefits for the community as well as participants both now and in the future. Grootaert (1998), Lin (2001) and Krishna (2002) argued that: Social capital is an important factor, considered as the "key" to ensuring sustainable development for communities (Social capital is formed from the interaction between individuals and groups based on trust, norms, cooperation and social networks that can help local people access resources, be empowered to participate in policy making and decision making, and can ensure sustainable development and growth). Inheriting the results of these studies, Jones (2005) after assessing the importance of social capital for community-based ecotourism development also affirmed: Social capital is "a missing link" in sustainable development and considered it an important factor to ensure democratic fairness, poverty reduction and environmental protection . Vermaak (2009) considers social capital as a “cure” for enabling local people to participate in cooperation, access resources and be empowered in tourism development activities . Previously, Sawatsky (2003) also pointed out: Social capital in each community reflects how local people participate in resource management and contributes advantages for local people to participate in organizing, maintaining control and ownership of tourism development businesses. Tourism projects will be more successful in communities with more “closely” connected social networks .


Second, the results of previous studies often choose to evaluate the role/influence of social capital on one/some interest groups of local people in ecotourism development, the studies mainly focus on environmental impacts and raising environmental awareness for local people. Social capital plays an important role in managing resources, promoting environmental protection activities and increasing the role of the community in ecotourism development (Pretty and Smith, 2004). Social capital, especially normative factors and trust, positively influence local people's environmental protection attitudes; at the same time, promote sustainable development and bring benefits to local people (Liu et al., 2014). Studies explore and test the impact of social capital on the total benefits (political, economic, cultural - social, environmental), especially in the context of a small number of national parks. Most of these studies also explore the relationship of social capital to environmental resource management. In assessing the impact of social capital on collaborative resource management and the benefits it brings to communities, Musavengane (2017) found that “nurturing” social capital not only facilitates more effective collaborative resource management but is also a useful tool in accumulating other “productive capital” for communities to earn a living and enjoy educational and other benefits. From there, the author makes an important note that “ all action programs and community development initiatives seek “pathways” through which social capital is strengthened and enhanced ”. Therefore, studying the impact of social capital on the benefits of local people is a topic that deserves further research attention.

Table 2.4 below presents some research results related to the impact of social capital on the benefits of local people in ecotourism development. In the studies, social capital is a factor that can significantly affect the level and results of community participation in local tourism development and affect the benefits of ecotourism development. Logically, social capital will affect the participation of local people and this participation will bring political, economic, cultural - social benefits, and raise awareness of environmental protection for them. At that time, the participation of local people can also be seen as an intermediary factor/variable in the relationship between the impact of social capital on the benefits of local people. However, “local people’s participation” can also be considered as an aspect of social capital (Pongponrat and Chantradoan, 2012; Thammajinda, 2013; Pramanik et al., 2018), which is expressed in the elements of cooperation, social networks and mutual support and sharing. Therefore, most of these studies do not separate the factor “local people’s participation” into a separate factor/variable for measurement, but conduct direct research on the relationship of social capital’s influence on the benefits of local people in ecotourism development.

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