Title: Building sustainable tourism as an integral part of the resort community

Authors: Harold Richins

Addresses: School of Travel Industry Management, University of Hawaii, 2560 Campus Road, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA

Abstract: This paper discusses the use of an action research type participatory community method in the development of a sustainable tourism strategy for a resort community in Australia. Through an effective collaborative approach to tourism management and sustainability, this provides perhaps an innovative example how sustainable tourism methodologies can facilitate more community integration and empowerment. This paper shows an approach to community governance, human capacity building and tourism collaborative development, which suggests an important method in the achievement of long-term resort destination sustainability to provide both residents and visitors with quality of lifestyle and experiences that they often embrace so passionately.

Keywords: sustainable destinations; tourism strategy; resort communities; community governance; sustainable tourism; action research; Australia; tourism policy; community integration; community empowerment; collaboration; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2008.019274

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2008 Vol.1 No.4, pp.315 - 334

Published online: 06 Jul 2008 *

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