Transforming rural communities through tourism development: an examination of empowerment and disempowerment processes

Abstract

Empowerment, as it represents community members’ sense of control and ability to cope with a changing environment, plays a crucial role in sustainable tourism. This study explored the (dis)empowerment processes in the context of rural tourism development. The power typology was presented as a process of change that transformed the lives of rural community members through tourism development. Through a multi-method approach that combined community workshops and interviews with tourism stakeholders from four rural communities, this study expanded the theorization of tourism-related empowerment processes by integrating Rowlands’s model of empowerment and McClelland’s classification of power experiences. Findings highlighted that tourism development could lead to both empowerment and disempowerment in all four expressions of power, through processes of “power over” (access and control over resources), “power within” (individual autonomy and belief), “power with” (opportunities for collective action), and “power to” (individual capability for taking action). Moreover, the four expressions of power were found to be interrelated and interwoven. Specifically, our findings revealed that 1) “power with” and “power to” build upon each other; 2) “power over” interacted with “power with”; 3) “power with”, “power to” and “power over” influenced “power within”. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Keywords:

• Empowerment
• power
• rural community
• transformation
• community development

Acknowledgement

This research project is funded by the Extension Collaboration Grant Program of the University of Illinois Extension. The authors would like to express appreciation for the Extension collaborators at Illinois Extension: Jennifer Russell, Kathie Brown, Alexandra Burbach, Mike Delany, Margaret Larson, Janice McCoy, and Nancy Ouedraogo. We would also like to thank members of the four communities who took time and efforts to participate in the project and share their insights.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research project is funded by the Extension Collaboration Grant Program of the University of Illinois Extension..

Notes on contributors

Jeongeun Park

Jeongeun Park, Ph.D., examines the socio-cultural and political impact of tourism, emphasizing community-based tourism and cultural sustainability.

Suiwen (Sharon) Zou

Suiwen (Sharon) Zou, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on the power of marketing in addressing the issues of financing tourism and leisure services and rural economic and community development.

Joelle Soulard

Joelle Soulard, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on the roles of travel experiences in fostering transformation, inclusivity, well-being, social change, and activism from the perspectives of travelers and destination residents. Her interests reside in the desire to create research that is actionable, inter-disciplinary, collaborative, inclusive, and offers creative solutions to challenges encountered at destinations.