Management of Ecological Resources for Sustainable Tourism: A Systematic Review on Community Participation in Ecotourism Literature

Objectives of the study: This paper aims to analyse how community participation is viewed and implemented in ecotourism projects with evidence from ecotourism literature. The paper elaborates on the evolution and trends of community participation in ecotourism projects. Methodology: With the use of content analysis method, the study analyses literature in the form of journal articles. For the analysis, research articles published from 1990-2019 were collected from journal databases and search engines, including Scopus, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, and Google Scholar. Originality/ Relevance: The present study intends to address the research gap in ecotourism literature that reviews and descriptively analyze the disseminated information on community participation Findings: The main findings suggest that only some ecotourism projects are successfully running with the full participation of local communities. The extent and type of community participation vary in each ecotourism project depending on social, cultural, and political factors. It also points out the presence of contradicting views regarding its effectiveness and applicability. Theoretical/ Methodological Contributions: Analysis of ecotourism literature on one of the key aspects of ecotourism is necessary to investigate and understand the patterns and themes of community participation and contributes on the directions for future research.