Prospects and Challenges of Community-Based Tourism and Changing Demographics

Book excerpt: The negative impacts associated with conventional tourism has occasioned more sustainable forms of tourism including community-based tourism (CBT). Among the benefits of CBT are the improvement of rural economies, empowerment of the local community, and poverty alleviation. In as much as CBT has been promoted as being more beneficial to local communities, its implementation is not without challenges. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, destination marketing organizations and managers of CBT projects have to adopt different marketing strategies including shifting to target new demographics in an effort to remain sustainable. Prospects and Challenges of Community-Based Tourism and Changing Demographics provides theoretical and empirical insights in the prospects and challenges associated with CBT, critically examining issues of structure, impact, management, marketing, support, changing demographics, challenges, sustainability, and implications for the future of CBT. It also highlights critical lessons and trends in CBT from both established and new CBT initiatives to inform the design, management, marketing, and sustainability of CBT projects. This book will be a useful addition to the literature on CBT with its coverage of topics such as conservation, cultural tourism, and sustainable rural livelihoods. This book provides an excellent resource for students, academicians, researchers, tourism and hospitality practitioners, managers, destination managers, stakeholders, tour operators, and policymakers.