Limitation of community empowerment in tourism development in developing

As stated above, empowerment is a Western cultural notion, and the majority of analyses of the concept have taken a western-centric view (Sadan, 2004), despite the often-stated value of

empowerment to solve issues faced by developing countries (Ayesha, n.d; Harris et al., 2009; United Nations, 2018). The literature suggests several factors which may limit community empowerment in developing countries, including a lack of involvement in the tourism industry and in tourism planning or decision-making process (Aref, 2011; Cole, 2006, 2007; Coria & Calfucura, 2012; Fuller, Buultjens, & Cummings, 2005; Goodwin, 2002; Hatipoglu et al., 2016; Kiss, 2004; Klimmek, 2013; Park & Kim, 2016; Timothy, 1999; Tosun, 2000; Walpole & Goodwin, 2000). Factors that limit community opportunity to be involved in the tourism industry and decision-making process include a lack of information and knowledge, elite domination, discouraging legal frameworks and lack of leadership, and cultural factors (see Section 2.4.2) (Aref, 2011; Cole, 2006, 2007; Coria & Calfucura, 2012; Fuller et al., 2005; Goodwin, 2002; Hatipoglu et al., 2016; Kiss, 2004; Klimmek, 2013; Park & Kim, 2016; Timothy, 1999; Tosun, 2000; Walpole & Goodwin, 2000). Another crucial factor that limits

involvement in the tourism industry is a lack of capital (Coria & Calfucura, 2012; Fuller et al., 2005; Goodwin, 2002; Kiss, 2004; Klimmek, 2013; Ramos & Prideaux, 2014; Wilkinson & Pratiwi, 1995).

While scholars have suggested that knowledge is a crucial factor in achieving community

empowerment (see Section 2.3.2), communities in developing countries, particularly in rural areas, often have lower levels of education and skills than those who live in urban areas (Ayesha, n.d; Harris et al., 2009; United Nations, 2018). Lack of access to information (e.g., access to education,

insufficient tourism publications) might cause a lack of knowledge that affects community empowerment (Cole, 2007; Goodwin, 2002; Han et al., 2014; Pasape, Anderson, & Lindi, 2014; Ramos & Prideaux, 2014). Studies show that lack of information and knowledge could limit

community opportunities in undertaking ecotourism ventures (Ramos & Prideaux, 2014) and prevent them from benefiting from tourism development (Han et al., 2014). To overcame this barrier,

scholars have suggested several ways to increase community knowledge, namely through education and knowledge transfer from tourism researchers who can take an active role in disseminating information (Cole, 2006; Pasape et al., 2014). It has been suggested that this education, including training programmes, could encourage communities to become more involved in tourism

development as both entrepreneurs and employees (Petrić, 2007).

An issue often present during the tourism planning process in developing countries relates to elite domination, with the community voices often not heard, and the discussion limited to business elites, state elites or foreign institutions (Bookbinder et al., 1998; Charnley, 2005; Coria & Calfucura, 2012; He et al., 2008; Richards & Hall, 2000; Tosun, 2000). When the power in the planning process is held by a certain stakeholder, it is likely that influential stakeholder will secure better access to the resources at the expenses of others (Scheyvens, 2002). The dominant elites within the community often use their superiority to grasp political power and get their interests reflected in policies and actions (Narayanan, 2003) and furthermore constrain the equal distribution of benefits (Charnley, 2005; Walpole & Goodwin, 2000).

National regulation is another important factor in community empowerment since it defines the opportunities structure in community empowerment (Alsop & Heinsohn, 2005; Cole, 2007; Lenao & Basupi, 2016). However, some developing countries experience an absence of regulation related to community empowerment (Harris et al., 2009; Lenao & Basupi, 2016; United Nations, 2018).

As stated above, leadership is a critical factor in the community empowerment process (see Section 2.3.2). However, at the community level, local leaders often have poor negotiation skills that could disempower communities from undertaking tourism ventures (Ramos & Prideaux, 2014). While culture can support community empowerment (Cole, 2006, 2007; Dolezal, 2015; Thammajinda, 2013), there is strong evidence that the cultures of developing countries contain values and norms that restrict the participation of at least some community members (Bith, 2011; Dolezal, 2015; Raub & Robert, 2013; Thammajinda, 2013) (see Section 2.4.2).

Limited economic resources or lack of capital is another factor that can disempower a community, or restrict it from undertaking tourism ventures. Generally, the local community often have resource limitations while outsiders have more financial resources, enabling them to acquire more power in the tourism industry (Coria & Calfucura, 2012; Fuller et al., 2005; Goodwin, 2002; Kiss, 2004; Klimmek, 2013; Ramos & Prideaux, 2014; Wilkinson & Pratiwi, 1995). For example, Wilkinson and Pratiwi (1995) study in Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia, show that non-locals who have more capital to invest and more skills related to tourism services can gain higher economic empowerment compared to most local people. As time passes, these non-locals have come to dominate the upper and middle classes of the village.

In a developing country context, it seems that the focus on empowering communities is

disproportionately focused on economic empowerment (McMillan et al., 2011; Movono & Dahles, 2017), while in developed countries, empowerment tends to encompass a range of empowering outcomes, including psychological empowerment (Boley et al., 2014; Boley, Strzelecka, & Watson, 2018; Kim & George, 2005; Maruyama et al., 2015; Maruyama et al., 2016b; Salazar, Pfaffenberg, & Salazar, 2006). The implications of this are a lack of understanding of other dimensions of community empowerment in developing countries, despite the known relationship between different forms of empowerment. For example, in Fiji, empowerment began with economic empowerment, then grew gradually to include social, psychological, and political empowerment (Movono & Dahles, 2017). In Nepal, increasing levels of economic empowerment had the greatest positive effect on the

empowerment of women in the region (McMillan et al., 2011). In China, Weng and Peng (2014) suggest a way to enhance community empowerment by placing the enhancement of psychological power at the core of community empowerment. In another case, in Nepal, to some extent the political dimension was pivotal to the ultimate sustainability of social change. However, improvement in political empowerment relies on the active involvement of national and local political structures to communicate and ensure gender equality (McMillan et al., 2011).

Aside from limiting factors described above, research in developing countries indicates that interaction with outsiders is a factor that could support community empowerment; this is rarely present in a developed country (Lortanavanit, 2009; Marcinek & Hunt, 2015). For example,

interaction with foreign tourists could increase community knowledge to manage the resources for tourism development (Lortanavanit, 2009); this provides a solid base for future sustainable tourism development (Marcinek & Hunt, 2015).

Furthermore, in developing countries, the type of tourism implemented in an area can influence community empowerment (Bith, 2011; Chen, Li, & Li, 2017; Lapeyre, 2011; Marcinek & Hunt, 2015; Ruiz-Ballesteros & Hernández-Ramírez, 2010). For example, it is argued in Ecuador that community-

based tourism that focuses on achieving certain key objectives (e.g., ensuring that communities have control over tourist activity) can potentially empower communities (Ruiz-Ballesteros & Hernández- Ramírez, 2010). While an ecotourism project’s roots in an indigenous women’s association, which is included in a machismo-dominated society offers space to connect social capital and gender

empowerment (Marcinek & Hunt, 2015), it should be noted that these tourism forms are often context-related and culturally specific so that further systematic studies in other contexts are required to better inform policy-makers (Lapeyre, 2011).

To conclude, while literature has suggested that tourism has the potential to empower a community, the research in developing countries indicate the existence of several issues that may limit the application of the concept of empowerment.

2.4.2

Cultural constructs and community empowerment in tourism development