Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia
Rural communities, especially those that strive to become tourist destinations face many challenges, including limited human and financial resources in developing their own tourism sector. The importance of local visitor centres in promoting the region can be invaluable assets in addressing those li...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Channel View Publications
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13462 |
| _version_ | 1848748353975746560 |
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| author | Alonso, Abel Liu, Yi |
| author_facet | Alonso, Abel Liu, Yi |
| author_sort | Alonso, Abel |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Rural communities, especially those that strive to become tourist destinations face many challenges, including limited human and financial resources in developing their own tourism sector. The importance of local visitor centres in promoting the region can be invaluable assets in addressing those limitations. However, to what extent can efforts among a community's residents also contribute towards the promotion of local tourism? The present study investigates this aspect of community involvement from the perspective of representatives (managers, staff) of an emerging rural tourism destination, the Blackwood River Valley in Western Australia. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted in four visitor centres. Volunteerism among local residents in various ways of tourism promotion emerged as a key finding in this study, as well as volunteer work providing support beyond involvement at visitor centres. Indeed, this aspect of community involvement was further illustrated in other forms of community involvement (e.g. helping host and cater for events). The findings, therefore, reinforce the notion that through volunteerism, local residents make direct and indirect participatory contributions that help strengthen the social aspect, or social fabric, of the community, while contributing to tourism development. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:03:42Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-13462 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:03:42Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Channel View Publications |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-134622017-09-13T15:00:25Z Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia Alonso, Abel Liu, Yi volunteerism Blackwood River Valley tourism development Western Australia visitor centres community involvement Rural communities, especially those that strive to become tourist destinations face many challenges, including limited human and financial resources in developing their own tourism sector. The importance of local visitor centres in promoting the region can be invaluable assets in addressing those limitations. However, to what extent can efforts among a community's residents also contribute towards the promotion of local tourism? The present study investigates this aspect of community involvement from the perspective of representatives (managers, staff) of an emerging rural tourism destination, the Blackwood River Valley in Western Australia. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted in four visitor centres. Volunteerism among local residents in various ways of tourism promotion emerged as a key finding in this study, as well as volunteer work providing support beyond involvement at visitor centres. Indeed, this aspect of community involvement was further illustrated in other forms of community involvement (e.g. helping host and cater for events). The findings, therefore, reinforce the notion that through volunteerism, local residents make direct and indirect participatory contributions that help strengthen the social aspect, or social fabric, of the community, while contributing to tourism development. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13462 10.1080/13683500.2011.644770 Channel View Publications restricted |
| spellingShingle | volunteerism Blackwood River Valley tourism development Western Australia visitor centres community involvement Alonso, Abel Liu, Yi Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia |
| title | Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia |
| title_full | Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia |
| title_fullStr | Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia |
| title_short | Local Community, Volunteering and Tourism Development: The Case of The Blackwood River Valley, Western Australia |
| title_sort | local community, volunteering and tourism development: the case of the blackwood river valley, western australia |
| topic | volunteerism Blackwood River Valley tourism development Western Australia visitor centres community involvement |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13462 |