Community led tourism - changing the tourism mindset

06 December 2024

The excellent newsletters produced by the Scottish Community Alliance have restarted in a changed format.  In the most recent,  Carron Tobin, Execurive Director of SCOTO Community Tourism Network - a Community Interest Compamy based in Drumnadrochit - argues that for tourism to be sustainable the primary emphasis must be on conserving and enhancing the wellbeing of the local community and place, rather than satisfying the immediate needs of the visitors, otherwise "we are talking about extraction".

When we talk about community led tourism and our vision for the future, we are talking about needing a radical shift in mindset and for visitors, business, public agencies and government as well as communities themselves to all change their mindsets.  Our national tourism strategy seeks responsible tourism for a sustainable future.  This means putting our people, places and planet to the fore.

We are conscious for some this may feel like it flies in the face of the basic principles of tourism and hospitality… Tourism is all about visitors isn’t it?  Which ties in with the classic hospitality mantra ‘the customer is always right’.

However we believe these days are gone.  In an era where we need to focus on responsible tourism, we believe tourism has to be about added value for the host destination – its people and its places. It has to be worth their while welcoming visitors and tourism should help make them a better place to live, work and visit.  It has to benefit their environment, not erode it.  If it isn’t giving something of value back … we are talking about extraction.

Read the full article       (and follow the links)