Collaboration for Community-Based Cultural Sustainability in Island Tourism Development: A Case in Korea

Xiubai Li, Jinok Susanna Kim and Timothy J. Lee
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Xiubai Li: School of History, Culture and Tourism, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541001, China
Jinok Susanna Kim: Department of Airline Service, Sehan University, Dangjin 31746, Korea
Timothy J. Lee: Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Constructive collaboration with host communities while maintaining their traditional culture is crucial when planning tourism ventures, particularly if ensuring sustainability is considered important. This paper investigates the cultural sustainability of Jeju Island in South Korea and whether collaboration with community-based tourism ensures this sustainability through in-depth interviews with local residents. The first part of the interview focuses on cultural components to assess the current situation of cultural sustainability on the island, and the second part is related to that collaboration. The findings of the interviews indicate that: (i) there are certain negative indications of cultural sustainability in that Jeju people holding informal power became vulnerable in the face of tourism demand; (ii) several barriers exist in the facilitation of community-based tourism collaboration notwithstanding the beneficial trends, and (iii) there is a strong relationship between collaboration and cultural sustainability. It is also noted that the collaboration itself does not coincide with the actualization of cultural sustainability so long as current power disparities exist. The study delivers significant implications to the tourism policymakers and practitioners on how sustainable tourism development should be planned and operated to secure a long-term benefit especially focused on how the local community should be involved in the overall development process.

Keywords: collaboration; cultural sustainability; community-based tourism; sustainable tourism development; local residents’ participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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