Does social capital really enhance community based ecotourism? A review of the literature

Abstract

Community Based Ecotourism (CBET) is a unique type of tourism which was introduced as a way of alleviating the impact of tourism activities on the environment as well as striking a balance between local people and the natural environment. It is a responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people implying that there is a necessary social dimension to ecotourism. The results from the review of literature suggest that social capital plays a critical role in the successful CBET ventures. However, most CBET ventures are failing due to a number of problems such as unequal distribution of economic benefits, poor or lack marketing knowledge and poor infrastructure. This paper suggests that, there is a need for government intervention to help CBET ventures for them to be successful. It is argued in the paper that social capital can be a route through which the accumulation of other forms of capital can be achieved and contribute to enhancing sustainable community based ecotourism.