ABSTRACT
Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, development and planning specialists began to realize that development efforts, including tourism, rarely had the desired results that programme initiators expected (McIntyre et al. 1993; Stiefel and Wolfe 1994). In recognition of the failure of traditional, top-down approaches to economic development, observers of, and participants in, community development efforts have strongly advocated an approach that involves as many stakeholders as possible in the communities where development occurs. The failure of the majority of development projects was attributed to the fact that most potential beneficiaries of these programmes were routinely excluded from the development process (Botchway 2001; Dobbs and Moore 2002; Friedmann 1996; Watt et al. 2000). Since the 1970s, debate has intensified with respect to who should participate, how various stakeholders might participate, and to what extent community members ought to be involved in development initiatives. In response, calls have been made throughout the world for a decentralization of decision-making power in all areas of development.
