Exploring social learning as a contributor to tourism destination governance

Social learning is a participatory process designed to create shared and common understanding among actors within a social unit. This exploratory, qualitative study applies social learning theory to explore how social learning underpins the process and outcomes of tourism destination governance. This paper presents the findings of in-depth interviews undertaken with 30 participants of the governance process implemented in the Lawachara National Park, a protected area in Bangladesh. The study found that social learning led to improved interactions among previously disparate groups of protected area tourism destination stakeholders. Participants reported that the creation of a more collaborative environment through the governance process led to new opportunities to learn about the socio-economic and ecological challenges facing the protected area, as well as alternative income generation activities such as tourism. The process was also credited with positively contributing to knowledge exchange, increased awareness and a change in behaviour by a number of the stakeholder groups who had previously used the protected area as a consumptive resource.