Gerda Briot Warnholtz  | Tourism as an intervention for sustainable development in poor indigenous/peasant communities: A realist approach. 

Supervisors:

Student bio:

I obtained my undergraduate degree in tourism through a professional and self-taught career, through the program of the Ministry of Public Education of Mexico and then I obtained a master's degree in tourism management and consulting, with a specialty in sustainable tourism, at the University of León in Spain. 
I had my first encounter with what is now Leeds Beckett University in 2009. I was accepted to take part of an international course on Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation promoted by the UNWTO, the Themis Foundation and the Mexican Ministries of Tourism and Foreign Affairs. This course was led by Dr Humberto Rivas, from the Catholic University in Chile and by Dr Xavier Font, from what is now Leeds Beckett University.

As I was, and still am, interested in understanding the role tourism can play in the sustainable development and poverty alleviation of host communities, I was attracted by Dr Font’s and Dr Goodwin’s line of study at the university. At that time, Dr Font kindly invited me to join the university’s PhD programme, as soon as I completed my master’s degree.

After looking for a PhD programme which could guide and support my research project, I decided to join the PhD programme at Leeds Beckett University based on the outstanding quality of its research staff and on the coincidence in research interests. Much has changed at the university, and change has undoubtedly been for the better. The university has granted me the privilege of having Professor Chris Cooper as my Director of Studies and Dr Neil Ormerod as my second supervisor.

Tourism as an intervention for sustainable development in poor indigenous/peasant communities: A realist approach.

The case of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca, Mexico

Tourism has been considered a tool for sustainable development (SD) of rural/indigenous communities with relevant biocultural heritage since the 1980s, especially in developing countries. Although there is still scarce information on externally funded tourism-based projects in these social groups, the review of available literature indicates that academic research has been carried out mainly from the perspective of the tourism business and the linkage of the communities with the market, and it points at a high failure rate. The review also evidenced the practical inexistence of assessments of the use of tourism as interventions for change.

Based on the theory of social change and on the realist methodological approach to social research, the study, examines the use of tourism as an intervention for social change and focuses on the case of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca, Mexico. Between 2007 and 2015, this highly marginalized and geographically isolated indigenous community was subject of three interventions in which tourism played an important role, and the outcomes have been far from what was expected. 
It is argued that interventions are theory incarnated and that, if implemented within a specific context, it may trigger specific hidden mechanisms, which lead to (un)expected outcomes. In order to open the black box of mechanisms affecting the interventions, in this specific case/context, the researcher used semi-structured interviews focus groups and participant observation, involving all levels of participants, from decision-makers and funders to community members. Consequently, the study sought to establish causal chains to identify mechanisms that triggered (un)expected outcomes within a specific sociocultural context. It is important to note that the research distinguishes between SD of tourism, and SD through tourism and approaches the tourism initiatives from the perspective of the theory of change each stakeholder had, and to what extent they coincide. Data were systematically transcribed, coded, and analyzed with the help of NVivo and the interpretation of data was supported by a critical discourse analysis approach. Triangulation of data and sources was used to reinforce the research's credibility and consistency.

Preliminary findings demonstrate an evident lack of intersubjectivity regarding basic concepts in the projects and their objectives, which point to the necessity for an alternative approach to the design, application, and assessment of tourism interventions the needs, priorities, and expectations of the interventions have to be conveyed. It was also established that intervention designers and implementers need to thoroughly understand each sociocultural, political and environmental context in which an intervention is carried out. Indigenous communities are not homogeneous, either among each other or internally. Therefore, considering the traditional social organization, worldviews and economic system is fundamental to achieve the improvement of collective well-being, the preservation of biodiversity, and of cultural heritage.

The thesis innovates in the study of tourism as an intervention or strategy for social betterment, placing the host community and its needs and priorities at the centre. The realist approach to the study of causal chains in tourism-project management is also innovative. The in-depth case study allowed me to dimension the complexity and relevance sociocultural and biocultural heritage have for the sustainability of tourism in time, and the responsibility external donors, funders, decision-makers, intervention designers and implementers have when intervening a specific social group and its biocultural environment.
The study seeks to help decision-makers improve tourism-based interventions, from the planning and design stages, through the implementation process, to the monitoring and evaluation of their outcomes. It also opens the possibility for further discussion and research on the use of tourism as an intervention for social change, and on the role tourism can play in the improvement of the living conditions of the communities and in the sustainable management of biocultural heritage.