The relational perspective in community-based tourism management: the case of Prainha do Canto Verde

Abstract

This paper acknowledge that social relations and network organizational structures are important in collaborative community projects and that there is a need to promote a broader discussion on participatory management and tourism sustainability from at relational perspective. The study examines the structural properties of the collaboration network in the management of community-based tourism in Prainha do Canto Verde (State of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil). Social network analysis is applied by using measures that can help understand the relationships between the structural characteristics of the collaboration network and the processes of community-based tourism management: network size, connectivity, density, average distance among individuals and centrality. Results show that the structural pattern of the community collaboration network is quite consistent with the principles of community-based tourism, in which participatory management and social organization as key aspects that differentiate it from other tourism practices.