CONCEPTUALISING THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH COAST, KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA

The aim of community-based tourism (CBT) is to empower and emancipate disadvantaged communities. It is a pathway for communities to take charge of local tourism development. This article investigates the role of local government in CBT by examining a local municipality in South Africa. It is based on a literature review on the role of government in tourism. It proposes the establishment of a local CBT organisation (LCBTO) supported and facilitated by government at the national and district levels with the involvement of stakeholders such as universities, the private sector and non-governmental organisations for capacity building. This capacity building process is a precondition for the establishment of the LCBTO and local CBT projects. The proposed LCBTO can coordinate CBT interventions; facilitate the democratic nomination of CBT project leaders; formulate a CBT strategy at the local level. This conceptual model is the major contribution to knowledge of this article.