Decision-making Process
Communities have a real say in how tourism operates
Beyond tour design, this asks whether local people have meaningful input into broader decisions that affect them — from access to sites and visitor limits to how profits are distributed. Genuine participation means communities can shape, not just react to, tourism in their area.
Whether local communities have a genuine voice in decisions that affect tourism in their area, beyond just tour design.
How RTA measures this
The same sub-indicator is assessed from two sides: operators self-assess their performance; travellers rate their experience. Both use a 1–5 scale.
“To what extent did local communities participate in decisions affecting how this tour operates?”
- 1No formal or informal agreement was necessary to run this tour.
- 2No specific agreement other than permission authorizing us to tour the area was concluded. Or: discussions were held with local authorities or representatives of local associations/businesses around a formal agreement but nothing was finalized.
- 3An agreement was formalized with the leader(s) and/or representative(s) of the local community(ies), or with the local administration including the approval of the itinerary especially within crowded public areas.
- 4A formal agreement was reached together with main stakeholders / community leaders (including marginalized groups). Or: an agreement was formalized with local business owners to contribute to the tour (specific explanations, availability for groups, donations to local associations aiming at supporting marginalized people, etc.).
- 5We have a formal agreement with one or several established local organizations/communities (according to local customs) with a yearly review.
“How well did this operator demonstrate that local communities have real influence over how tourism operates here?”
- 1There was no evidence that local communities had any influence over how tourism operates here.
- 2Local people appeared to be passive recipients of tourism rather than active participants in decisions.
- 3Some degree of local influence was apparent, though decision-making power seemed limited.
- 4Local communities appeared to have real input into how tourism operates in this destination.
- 5The operator clearly supports genuine local decision-making — communities visibly shape how tourism works here.
Other sub-indicators in Involvement of Local Communities
Rate this indicator yourself
Complete a questionnaire and see how an operator scores across all 16 sub-indicators.