The constantly growing tourism sector does not only bring economic well‐being to host communities but also raises environmental and social questions. Communities increasingly experience negative impacts that strain their social, cultural, and ecological living environments. We investigate the potential of a more relational, action‐oriented research approach for tourism: Participatory Action Research (PAR). Results show that PAR has the potential to actively involve tourism‐affected communities in the decision‐making processes that impact their living environments and facilitate them in co‐creating community‐specific initiatives for sustainable change. Yet, the current role of conventional research approaches hinders PAR in developing its full potential.