Abstract
UN Tourism urges the promotion of sustainable tourism development. An integral element of the UN’s Agenda 2030 values cultural heritage and its transmission for “making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” (UN Report, 2015). Ireland's rich heritage forms a core element of its cultural tourism offering and recently it is also viewed as a “social asset”. This study explores the concept of multi -stakeholder partnerships and community participation in tourism development, through the lens of heritage tourism.
Collaboration, specifically through local government enabled multi-stakeholder partnerships, is seen as an effective way to support sustainable tourism development (Gori et al., 2021). Nevertheless, meaningful collaboration and community participation in tourism planning is often passive, partial, and transient in nature (Choi and Murray, 2010). In a recent study, McKenna and Hanrahan (2024) found most residents believed tourism benefits their community, however just 23% of expressed satisfaction with their involvement in planning. This finding gives rise to concern around the integrity of sustainable development planning i.e. if governments fail to meaningfully engage and empower residents, sustainable tourism development cannot be guaranteed (Choi and Murray, 2010).
Specific to this study, is the Government's recent Town Centre First planning approach, to encourage community heritage-led regeneration, of both built and natural heritage assets and bio-diversity networks (www.towncentrefirst.ie). The methodology adopted is a case study approach, with observation and immersion similarly used in other heritage tourism research (Hamilton and Alexander, 2013, Harfst et al., 2021). The study is based on the researcher’s immersion in the case study of Killala, Co Mayo, one of 26 pilot towns originally selected to participate in the program. Given rural Ireland’s reliance on heritage tourism and the relatively small number of case studies to date, the work advances knowledge on the role of heritage tourism, in community tourism planning.
Keywords: Community Tourism Planning, Stakeholder Partnerships, Community Tourism Participation.
Collaboration, specifically through local government enabled multi-stakeholder partnerships, is seen as an effective way to support sustainable tourism development (Gori et al., 2021). Nevertheless, meaningful collaboration and community participation in tourism planning is often passive, partial, and transient in nature (Choi and Murray, 2010). In a recent study, McKenna and Hanrahan (2024) found most residents believed tourism benefits their community, however just 23% of expressed satisfaction with their involvement in planning. This finding gives rise to concern around the integrity of sustainable development planning i.e. if governments fail to meaningfully engage and empower residents, sustainable tourism development cannot be guaranteed (Choi and Murray, 2010).
Specific to this study, is the Government's recent Town Centre First planning approach, to encourage community heritage-led regeneration, of both built and natural heritage assets and bio-diversity networks (www.towncentrefirst.ie). The methodology adopted is a case study approach, with observation and immersion similarly used in other heritage tourism research (Hamilton and Alexander, 2013, Harfst et al., 2021). The study is based on the researcher’s immersion in the case study of Killala, Co Mayo, one of 26 pilot towns originally selected to participate in the program. Given rural Ireland’s reliance on heritage tourism and the relatively small number of case studies to date, the work advances knowledge on the role of heritage tourism, in community tourism planning.
Keywords: Community Tourism Planning, Stakeholder Partnerships, Community Tourism Participation.
| Original language | English (Ireland) |
|---|---|
| Type | Community Tourism Planning |
| Media of output | Case Study - International Conference Presentation |
| Publication status | Published - 25 Oct 2024 |
Name of Affiliated ATU Research Unit
- STO - Sustainable Tourism Observatory
