Influential Factors of Community Participation in Tourism: A Study on Sunamganj, Bangladesh

Md. Ashikur Rahman Avi^1*, Tauhid Ahmed Bappy², Khokaneswar Tripura3, Marufa Nasrin⁴ and Mohammed Mosaraf Hossain⁵

Analyzing Sunamganj's community tourism factors aids sustainable development, guiding Bangladesh's policymakers and stakeholders for inclusive tourism engagement.

Abstract

In recent years, although there have been some works on community-based tourism in Bangladesh, very few studies have identified the features that have a major influence on community participation in tourism. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to analyze what influences the participation of local communities in tourism in Sunamganj district, Bangladesh. To this end, an exploratory followed by a descriptive study was conducted. Initially, the authors identified five important and relevant variables by conducting in-depth interviews with the 15 community residents and analyzing the thematic approach. Based on the variables, 50 respondents were subsequently surveyed. A judgmental sampling method was followed for choosing these respondents. In this paper, multiple regression analysis using SPSS was used to determine how the identified variables contribute to community participation. The results indicated that a higher degree of positive perceptions about tourism (β =153, p<.05), greater knowledge concerning tourism services (β =117, p<.05), a higher level of coordination among tourism stakeholders (β =148, p<.05), an enhanced degree of resource management capability ensure a higher level of community participation. However, contrary to common knowledge, the perceived living condition was found to have an insignificant effect on local communities' participation in tourism. The findings and recommendations outlined in this paper are expected to help the government, tourism stakeholders, and policymakers of Bangladesh to engage the community in tourism activities.

Keywords: Influential factors, local community participation, tourism, Bangladesh.

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