Economic and social impacts of community based tourism in the Maldives / Ahmed Faiz

Abstract

In 2009 Maldives changed its regulations to allow visiting tourists to stay among local population. The purpose of this exploratory research is to explore economic and social impacts of community-based tourism in the Maldives. Literature suggests that there are many impacts of community based tourism. Most of the impacts are positive and helps local communities in poverty alleviation, income generation and development of the community and infrastructure. There are also negative impacts which are also common in mass tourism like sex, drugs and prostitution. For this research 20 participants from 2 islands (Maafushi Island and Thulusdhoo Island) are included. Participants include CBT venture executives, island councilors, locals and staff working in CBT ventures. Before start of this research, all ethical proceedings were completed in order to avoid any unethical action throughout the study. Ethical procedures are important for any research as these procedures guarantee legitimacy of the study. Participants for this research were recruited using purposive sampling and snowballing technique. Data were collected using semi structured interviews. Interviews were recorded in audio and furthermore interview notes were taken to identify gestures and other small details of participants. Collected data was coded and analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis involves collating the most cited codes and creating potential themes. Major themes that occurred are discussed in this study. This study also clearly highlights the negative influences which comes with community based tourism. In the end researcher have provided recommendations which can minimize the negative influences which will lead to sustainable development of community using CBT as a tool.