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Responsible Tourism Adviser
Involvement of Local CommunitiesSub-indicator 1 of 16

Tour Design Process (local participation)

Communities help shape the tour itself

Responsible tours are not designed in isolation. This sub-indicator looks at whether operators genuinely consult local communities when creating and updating itineraries ā€” ensuring that activities, routes, and encounters reflect community values rather than external assumptions about what visitors want.

The extent to which local communities are consulted and involved in creating, updating, and shaping tour itineraries and activities.

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 1ā€“5 scale.

Operator self-assessment

ā€œTo what extent did you involve local communities in designing and updating this tour?ā€

  1. 1It was not necessary to consult/involve the local population to develop this tour.
  2. 2The local authority/leaders were consulted. Or: only the business/shop owners where the tour stops were consulted.
  3. 3Some stakeholders within the visited communities (local authorities and civil society: NGOs, activists, associations, farmers, etc.) were identified and consulted, and some contributed to some extent to the development design (type and level of tourism) / spatial planning of the tour.
  4. 4A participative process was engaged with stakeholders (NGOs, local associations, activists, leaders, farmers, etc.) / community leaders who were consulted and the tour was designed together with them (type and level of tourism / spatial planning).
  5. 5We work with a local organization / local stakeholders who designed and/or handle the tour with us.
Traveller rating

ā€œTo what extent did this tour feel designed with meaningful local community input?ā€

  1. 1The tour felt designed entirely without local input ā€” activities and routes seemed externally imposed.
  2. 2There were few signs of local community influence in how the tour was structured.
  3. 3Some elements reflected local preferences, though broader community shaping was not apparent.
  4. 4The tour clearly benefited from local input ā€” the itinerary and activities felt genuinely locally shaped.
  5. 5Every aspect of the tour felt co-designed with local communities ā€” authentic and fully community-led.

Other sub-indicators in Involvement of Local Communities

Decision-making Process

Communities have a real say in how tourism operates

Population Benefits

The wider community ā€” not just a few ā€” benefits

Support to Social & Environmental Projects

Operator contributes to local causes beyond tourism

Rate this indicator yourself

Complete a questionnaire and see how an operator scores across all 16 sub-indicators.

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