Factors influencing the involvement of locals in CBT in a migratory birds’ sanctuary

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the factors influencing local communities’ participation in ecotourism development initiatives. The study examines a small-scale ecotourism initiative - Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust (MET) known as one of the best migratory birds’ sanctuary located in India. A survey method was adopted to collect quantitative primary data through a semi-structured questionnaire among 174 local community members employed by the Mangalajodi Ecotourism Organization. The analytical results identified three factors influencing local community’s participation (Community based tourism) in ecotourism, classified as community economic development, destination development and sustainable development. Principle Compound Analysis was performed among these three factors to find the significance among these factors. Based on these factors, k mean cluster analysis was performed to establish the variables that strongly influences participation of local communities in ecotourism development. Thus, this study widens the understanding of community based ecotourism initiatives for community development. From this study, it is concluded that local community members have a positive perception towards the development of community based ecotourism organizations. It is recommended that ecotourism organizations should exploit the existing development opportunities and adopt appropriate strategies for sustainability of the ecotourism initiatives and destinations. The findings could hopefully inform future tourism development decisions and strategies for this and similar tourism ventures.