Community-based ecotourism in the modern world: best practices and common challenges

Abstract

Community-based ecotourism is a fast growing subcategory of ecotourism in which the main goal is to practice sustainable tourism where the local people are empowered and own their own tourism initiatives, thereby equitably distributing benefits, while simultaneously protecting the local way of life.

The purpose of this thesis is to define the best practices among different community-based ecotourism initiatives and how to implement these practices into development strategies for ecotourism initiatives. Additionally, this thesis gathers some of the most common challenges associated with ecotourism and how these challenges can be faced to provide beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders.