Beyond definition: the essence of community-based tourism

Photo by GLP Films

‘Community-Based Tourism’ (CBT) is a term that is gaining more media attention at the global level. Nevertheless, too little is being regularly shared about this, and, consequently, confusion over the terminology is common among tourists.

Is a tourism experience in a local community synonymous with CBT? 
Is responsible tourism related to CBT?
And what about Indigenous Tourism—is that CBT?

Our answers would be, respectively:
Not necessarily!
Most of the time.
Only if done in a certain way.

Given the general lack of clarity, we would like to provide a close-up look at this diverse and invisible universe that can change the tourism industry and the way we understand its relationship to sustainability.

Photo by Julian Mora

CBT moving into the mainstream

According to the Sustainable Travel Report 2021 by Booking.com: “The travel hiatus has opened travelers’ eyes to the impact, both positive and negative, that their trips can have on local ecosystems and communities around the world.” This new consciousness has generally renewed interest in ‘visiting local communities,’ enlarging the ‘go-local’ trend that began during the last decade.

Beyond the historical organizations and platforms, such as ResponsibleTravel.com, Sustainable Travel International, Tourism Concern (R.I.P.) and the Center for Responsible Travel - CREST, nowadays, in addition, two of the world-leading companies in independent travel, Intrepid Travel and G Adventures—through the work of its independent foundation Planeterra–offer experiences called ‘Community-Based Tourism’ (or just ‘Community Tourism’ in the case of G Adventures).

In this kind of tourism, women and youth are at the center of the experience, together with their communities. There is an emphasis on the local cultural heritage, the natural environment is protected, and respectful visitors have the opportunity to discover destinations beyond the mainstream.

The quests for ‘authenticity and transformation,’ as well as meaningful travel, have been identified as important trends in recent years (UNWTO, International Tourism Highlight, 2019), and the interest in community-based tourism is rising steadily. According to the latest World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) report by Oliver Wyman, CBT is expected to grow by 10 percent before 2023 (The future of travel & tourism in the wake of Covid-19, Sept 2020). 

With such promising growth, what is meant by ‘Community-Based Tourism?’

Photo by Kyran Low

Navigating a sea of unclear definitions

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increased frequency in the use of the word ‘community’ to describe many tourism experiences.  Perhaps this isn’t surprising, as the rediscovered need to belong to a community has made us more sensitive to the concept, and has fueled a surge of interest and growth in community-based models of tourism. 

Unfortunately, however, there is no international consensus on terminology to describe the range of community-based models of tourism, leaving us with a confusing scene populated by terms such as Community Tourism and Community-Based Tourism, and even Community-Led Tourism, but no industry-accepted definition to differentiate between them.

The use of the word ‘community’ in a tourism approach can range from either identifying just an additional precious element of the experience, to fully representing its very essence.

So, what are we really talking about when we reference ‘community’ in tourism?

• What really matters, beyond any quarrel over the correct terminology, is that we are visiting a community with the goal of engaging with its members – glimpsing their true culture, learning about their lifestyle and the biodiversity of their natural environments from them and with them.

• When we are ‘based’ in a community, rather than passing by, after having taken a quick, but distant look at it, as per any sightseeing-style visit, we will be engaging in a community-based tourism experience

• If we are spending time physically–and emotionally–based in a community, we would expect the community to be the host of the experience, actively participating in the design and management of all aspects. 

Mangrove conservation leads to a sustainable community-based tourism model in southern Thailand's Baan Talae Nok village along the Andaman Coast.

We recognize that while other organizations use the term ‘Community Tourism’ with this same intention of describing a participatory and collaborative project, in other contexts, ‘Community-Based Tourism’ indicates only that the tourism is happening in a community, without referring specifically to the ownership of the project. In Brazil, for example, the term ‘CBT’ has assumed a vivid political connotation, strongly linked to battles for the affirmation of cultural rights and ethnic identity. In response, the recent use of the term ‘Community-Led Tourism’ seems to have surged in use to address issues around ownership raised by the other terms.

In our case, we will continue using the term CBT, because we believe it conveys a strong message, which we want to emphasize: anytime we, as tourists, stay in a community and visit their lands, their rivers, their mountains and forests; every time we sit in their kitchens and enter their homes, we want to make sure that the community is in charge of what we experience while we are based there. We want to make sure that its members have not been asked to passively ‘perform’ their culture in front of strangers, following a script prepared by someone else.  This is not acceptable anymore (if it ever was) and should be avoided and publicly denounced.

Unfortunately, we cannot see an equivalent rise in the number of CBT grassroots stories shared in the mainstream media. Therefore, even though it seems we have normalized the use of the term, its meaning remains clouded.  By lifting this fog through authentic, community-driven storytelling, there is an opportunity for education and growth for these emerging destinations as the protagonist of their own story and future. 

To learn more about the benefits of Community-Based Tourism, as well as how to identify true CBT experiences, check out the second article in our CBT series: Fundamental Pillars of Community-Based Tourism.

About Elisa Spampinato

Elisa Spampinato is a travel writer and a Community Storyteller. She is a marketing and communication advisor for community-based tourism and a sustainable tourism consultant. She also creates Community Storytelling Workshops designed for Community-Based Tourism projects to support the inclusion of different narratives and grassroots stories in travel marketing. Along with GLP Films, Elisa is a fellow ally of the Transformational Travel Council. Connect with Elisa on Linkedin.