Tourism, Planning, and Community Development

The intersection of community development, tourism and planning is a fascinating one. Tourism has long been used as a development strategy, in both developed and developing countries, from the national to local levels. These approaches have typically focused on economic dimensions with decisions about tourism investments, policies and venues driven by these economic considerations. More recently, the conversation has shifted to include other aspects social and environmental to better reect sustainable development concepts. Perhaps most importantly is the richer focus on the inclusion of citizens/residents/stakeholders. This is an essential ingredient of community development and the inclusionary, participatory approach brings these elds even closer together. It reects asset based development approaches, building on strengths in communities, and building social capital wealth. In this book, the dimensions of the role tourism plays in community well-being are explored. This issue presents a panoply of perspectives, tackling such questions as, can tourism heal? How can tourism development (and by implication management of, and policies for, tourism) serve as a catalyst to overcome social injustices and cultural divides? This book was originally published as a special issue of Community Development.