Support Networks for Community-Based Tourism in Rural Costa Rica

ABSTRACT

Tourism has been promoted as a rural development strategy in many countries. In Costa Rica, this has been done through a network of private and public organizations that support community-based tourism in rural areas. The objective of this research is to analyze how embedding grassroots organizations (GROs) in support networks may overcome some of the limitations encountered in the practice of rural tourism. Network theory is used to explain the rationale behind the development and implementation of these networks. Through a case study of two tourism-specific grassroots support organizations, it was found that support networks directly tackle some of the common problems faced by rural inhabitants in the practice of tourism, which are lack of essential skills, high development costs, and the dominance of mass tourism operators. Although the supported GROs are receiving tourists and revenues, support networks have not solved the problems of low employment and income.

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