Doctoral Dissertation Research in DRMS: Decision-Making Processes for Resilient Tourism-Based Economic Development

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Since the turn of the 21st century, tourism has experienced exponential growth due to the increasingly interconnected nature of the world and the relative ease of travel. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, tourism is now one of the world’s fastest growing industries. Since the inception of tourism studies, a majority of research has focused on the positive economic benefits of the industry, overlooking the widespread negative economic, social, and environmental impacts. Similarly, studies have often focused on tourism from the perspective of consumers in developed countries. Tourism research that does focus on host destinations in developing countries are rare and also typically limited to the perception and attitudes of hosting residents. Research has not been focused on the decision-making processes of destination stakeholders. Globally, households in regions with high levels of tourism, particularly those invested in tourism-based livelihood strategies in rural areas, are rapidly diversifying their livelihoods to tourism-based ones. This research will investigate the social, cultural, economic, environmental, and institutional factors influencing their decisions to do so. This research project explores the livelihood and management decisions of stakeholders by drawing from the theoretical frameworks of complexity and commons theory and integrating this thinking with existing tourism literature. The research will be carried out in the Himalayan region of Upper Mustang, Nepal, a region particularly relevant because of dramatic infrastructural changes and its recently being opened to tourism in 1992. Pilot work in the area in 2018 and 2019 suggests that households are rapidly diversifying their livelihoods, resulting in an exponential increase in tourism activities since 2007. Using surveys, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation, this research will first investigate local inhabitants’ decision-making processes, regarding whether and how to engage in tourism-based livelihoods. Second, the research will engage elected officials to understand their decision-making processes in developing and managing tourism. This research contributes to transitioning and reframing tourism studies within broader interdisciplinary scholarship - one which considers tourism to be a set of choices open to people among other livelihood and management options linked to other social, cultural, and environmental outcomes. In addition, this research has the potential for real-time practical, institutional, policy, and managerial impacts, which will be valuable for effective management of tourism in the study region, as well as other tourist destinations facing difficult institutional and governance decisions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.