Yurt Invited: Combining Tourists and Stakeholders Perceptions of Sustainable Community-Based Tourism in Central Asia

Abstract

Community-based tourism represents an opportunity for sustainable socioeconomic development, helping local populations to emerge out of lower living conditions. This paper investigates the perceptions of tourists and stakeholders engaged in Community-Based Tourism (CBT) in Central Asian countries (including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan) as an opportunity for sustainable development. This study’s purpose is to point out the usefulness of a combination approach of stakeholders’ and tourists’ perceptions to address the opportunities of CBT that can improve the quality of life of the tourism community in Central Asia by identifying the pitfalls of practices and determining challenges for tourism policy. Using a mixed-method approach, two complementary methodologies are simultaneously conducted. (1) An in-depth interview approach with sixteen selected experts in the region was processed with semantic network analysis for the definition of the main challenges and opportunities facing CBT as an enabler of sustainable development, considering the perceptions of sustainability from the point of view of stakeholders. (2) An online survey involving one hundred twenty-five tourists to the region was carried out to focus on tourists’ perceptions of sustainability. A structural equation modelling technique was used to identify the influence of tourists’ sustainability preferences and their involvement with local communities on sustainability perceptions. The results highlight the benefits the community receives, as well as future opportunities to obtain more advantages from tourism practices within the scope of sustainable tourism planning.

Approaches, Trends, and Gaps in Community-Based Ecotourism Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications between 2002 and 2022

“…On the other hand, the studies on CBET in rural areas are also representative. This may be related to the fact that sustainable tourism has been employed since the 1970s as a fundamental tool for rural growth in peripheral areas [15]. In addition to the above, these geographical areas prove to be priorities for the development of sustainable initiatives, as they are often not supervised by state entities and tend to be more vulnerable to social, environmental, cultural, and economic impacts [103], associated to a greater or lesser extent with deforestation, large-scale livestock farming, intensive agriculture, mining, predatory tourism, and even in some cases political violence [98,104].…”

“…Thanks to these characteristics, community-based tourism has often been used as a tool for rural growth in peripheral areas, as well as a viable instrument for poverty reduction, restoration [13], and rural economic growth [14]. As a result of these incentives, many CBT programs in developed countries have evolved into community-based enterprise development [15]. Given that CBT has also grown in protected and non-protected natural areas, it is necessary to establish strategies that guarantee environmental protection, poverty reduction, and community development [16].…”

“…Given that CBT has also grown in protected and non-protected natural areas, it is necessary to establish strategies that guarantee environmental protection, poverty reduction, and community development [16]. Following this line of thought, the success of the conservation of such areas requires the participation of local communities and training about the benefits they can obtain from conservation efforts [15]. Furthermore, community tourism can promote a variety of empowerment-related benefits, including economic, psychological, social, and political empowerment, as well as community unity [17].…”

Stakeholder Synergies for Enhancing Community-based Tourism Development

“…Artificial settings are unsuitable for community-level tourism; instead, visitors come to enjoy a real experience. In order to fulfill travelers' desires, it is important that tourists enjoy an authentic tourism experience while contributing to the local community's well-being (Usmonova et al, 2022). Using a minimal budget for tourism in a local environment is a symbolic process of community participation and upliftment through empowerment.…”

“…Homestay is another type of community-based tourism that is done in collaboration with a community and is legally supported by the local government. This represents an opportunity for socio-economic development in a sustainable way, helping local people to emerge from lower living conditions (Usmonova et al, 2022), which ensures an enriched quality of life and the quality of the environment. People in the tourism sector have a connection with the local government, particularly homestay tourism, which is connected with the government and people's representatives at the grassroots level.…”