Fariborz Aref

Community capacity building for tourism development.

Abstract Community capacity building is widely acknowledged as an important tourism development strategy. Building capacity of communities to effectively address our problematic issues and planning of community development is often required to analyze current status of community development with respect to tourism development. Community capacity building is a necessary ingredient for success of community development. Tourism development and building the capacity for local communities need to progress hand in hand. Community capacity building programs help underdeveloped communities to improve their ability to participate in the tourism decision-making processes. They encourage community involvement, and provide the tools that enable them to do so. The purpose of this paper is to explore the contributions of community capacity building to achieving tourism development. In this study, community capacity building represents the potential of a community to act in tourism development.

Assessing community leadership factor in community capacity building in tourism development: a case study of Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract The main purpose of the study is to assess the level of community leadership for community capacity building in tourism development. Six indicators were used to measure community leadership at the community level in the context of tourism development. Findings show that the level of community leadership as a factor of community capacity building is low. However the level in the old district is higher than the new district of Shiraz. t-test also shows that there is a significant difference between the level of community leadership in local communities in new Shiraz and the old Shiraz.

Community leaders' perceptions towards socio-cultural impacts of tourism on local communities.

Abstract This paper illustrates the community leaders’ perceptions toward socio-cultural impacts of tourism in Shiraz, Iran. Particularly, it focuses on the differences in leaders’ perceptions between the Old and New Districts of Shiraz. The study proves that there are broadly similar views among the community leaders from both districts of Shiraz. However, a distinct minority believes that some cultural problems arise from tourism development.

An Innovative Tool for Measuring Levels of Community Capacity Building for Tourism in Developing Countries

The article illustrates the measurements of eight domains of community capacity building (CCB) at individual, organizational and community levels for tourism development. The suggested measurements were then employed in the study carried in Shiraz. The main objective of the study was to determine the level of CCB at the three levels using the measurements that have been developed. A total number of 175 community leaders were involved in the study. Findings show that generally, the level of tourism capacity building in the study area is low. It is concluded that, although there is an individual support for more collaboration in CCB, but; there is a low level of converging vision between organizations and individuals in communities. This study also provides a theoretical framework model of CCB for tourism development. It demonstrates that the CCB in three levels can develop tourism in communities. The authors suggest that the measurements and the models of CCB described in this paper is imperative in helping to develop tourism by integrating the efforts of local organizations, communities and individuals in local and urban communities.