Empowering Local Tourism for Nation's Progress

Tourism is one of the most effective tools a country can use for progress, particularly in rural areas. Local communities play a vital role by working together to support society’s weaker sections, adding a unique socio-cultural flavor. For less developed regions, it is essential to empower themselves to seize the opportunities that development can bring. Tourism has become a key ally in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Challenges

Promoting and investing in local tourism highlights that the tourism system operates like a pyramid, organized hierarchically across national, regional, state, and local (town or municipality) levels of responsibility.

Hospitality and service providers, from the top to the bottom of this pyramid, often adopt a defensive stance regarding their role in successful tourism development. They do not view themselves as having the ability to lead the tourism-building process, as they lack the finances, manpower, vision, and expertise to do so.

Moreover, the delivery of sustainable tourism is often seen as outside their scope because they do not own or manage the facilities and services offered to visitors at various levels. As a result, they feel they have little influence over the traveler experiences that drive tourism. In their view, the responsibility for improving tourism infrastructure lies with the government at every level.

In practical terms, with large investment plans in place, how can we approach mass empowerment at the local level? How do we engage travel and service industry workers to contribute beyond their job descriptions?

Local Tourism Benefits All

With proper emphasis on the importance of tourism and careful execution of plans, tourism can emerge as a key sector that employs a large portion of society to generate income and serve as an umbrella solution to economic marginalization. Rural tourism, in particular, can help preserve and enrich local culture, traditions, and customs while also safeguarding the identity of local communities.

The most rewarding aspect of promoting local tourism is that it enhances natural sites and protects local fauna and flora, keeping the environment intact. Therefore, it can be said that local tourism has the potential to drive the growth of local communities by attracting tourists who come to experience the region’s natural beauty.

Enhancing local tourism also means engaging local talent, such as local actors, singers, dancers, etc., giving them a platform to showcase their hidden talents to the world. This will help empower the local communities and foster their development.  

The Overall Objective of Uplifting Local tourism:

Of course, the aim is to leverage local tourism and its rich culture into the system of economic growth, which will automatically contribute to its development and boost income.  

Objectives:

1. Enhancing Employment in rural areas: By supporting the local SMEs, we contribute to uplifting the local markets and places' financial position. The more we visit such sites, which are hidden treasures, the more need for Employment emerges, which will, in return, increase revenue. This is a chain, and the chain can only start with us contributing our part to it.  

2. Sustainable Development: This objective can be achieved through robust planning and effective decision making. Local tourism is about maintaining sustainable development and keeping our nature and environment clean and tidy. This is the whole beauty of local tourism.   

3. Tourist Attraction: Local places are no less when it comes to offering comprehensive services. All that we require is to enhance those services and give them shape. Once this is done, there could be some regional tourist attractions to which people might be attracted. 

4. Enhancement of Heritage: Local tourism can always help support local festivities, culture, and heritage. What the local art wants is genuine motivation, and they will be ready to put their best foot forward no matter what.

Overall, the entire focus to push local tourism by helping local tourists flourish in the best way possible when the government and the responsible communities position the region as a rural or local heritage tourism destination through an effective marketing and promotion strategy.