Linking tourism to social capital in destination communities

Tourism researchers have recently begun to examine in detail the connections between tourism development and destination community well-being. To date though there has been only limited research that critically examines the links between different aspects of tourism and the nature of social capital in a destination community. The literature review identified a need to both explore further the linkages between tourism and social capital and to better understand practitioner perspectives on these linkages through the use of Mode 2 research approaches. This paper will report on a qualitative action research project that explored the perspectives of 16 regional tourism officers on how tourism contributes to the social capital, and hence the well-being, of destination communities. The results of a thematic analysis of participant responses to a series of workshop activities identified key factors necessary for enhancing destination community social capital, including effective local resident engagement in tourism planning, the need for strong tourism leadership, and a desire to find different models for local and regional tourism organizations. The research also used Derrida's concept of absence and Foucault's concept of invisibility in social discourse to identify issues that were not immediately or overtly discussed by the participants, such as the need to better manage negative tourism impacts and specific mechanisms for building trust amongst tourism stakeholders. Implications both for further research and practice in this area are provided.