Socio-cultural criteria for the evaluation of rural tourism projects - a Delphi consultation

摘要

Tourism scholars highlight the use of evaluation as a tool in managing the development of tourism. However, despite the potential for extending knowledge and understanding, few evaluation studies form an integral part of tourism development practice. The study from which this article is drawn is exploratory in nature and investigates the possibility of formulating an index of generic criteria, for application in the development and management of rural tourism projects. Complementary research methods comprised a Delphi Survey, followed by a focus group and semi-structured interviews. This article focuses on those criteria, generated by Delphi panellists in Britain and South Africa, which pertain to the socio-cultural structure and environment in which rural tourism projects are located, the resources on which they are based and the adoption of appropriate management strategies to ensure that these are conserved and sustained. However, despite their support for the criteria generated respondents emphasised that, unless projects were financially viable and operated according to business principles, local communities would bear the costs of rural tourism development without reaping its benefits.