A Realist Approach to Assessing Benefits to Developing Communities Through Tourism.
Creators: name: Warne, Sarah
Publisher: name: CQUniversity
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 451821
subject: Pacific Peoples social impact and program evaluation
classificationCode: 350899
subject: Tourism not elsewhere classified
classificationCode: 451825
subject: Pacific Peoples tourism

description: Tourism is a complex industry with extensive value chains and is frequently engaged as a tool to increase economic growth and development in the Pacific. With the ability to leverage exposure to international markets and facilitate opportunities to increase domestic income while showcasing the unique cultural and social environments of developing communities, tourism offers a progressive foundation for growth. However, how benefits are generated, for whom and in what respects remain highly debated. Limitations to existing evaluation methods have resulted in uncertainties about benefits to developing communities with current academic debates suggesting more sophisticated and context-specific approaches which can adapt to changing environments, capture stakeholders’ views and incorporate methods such as the realist evaluation methodology are required. The research question analysed in this thesis was “What are the advantages of using the realist evaluation methodology when assessing benefits to developing communities through tourism?”. To answer the question, three components of the realist evaluation methodology were applied to examine benefits from tourism in the Solomon Islands. Several pre-existing challenges to benefit developing communities through tourism interventions were identified in a review of literature, confirming limitations to current evaluation methods used to assess development interventions. Subsequently, three subquestions were developed: 1. Are evaluation methods used to support tourism interventions in the Solomon Islands? 2. What are the considerations for developing an evaluation tool to increase benefits to developing communities through tourism interventions in the Solomon Islands? 3. How can using the realist evaluation methodology to evaluate tourism interventions increase benefits to developing communities? Through a mixed methods approach using inductive research methods over two stages, this research examined the advantages of using the realist evaluation methodology to assess tourism as an intervention in a developing country. To capture the contextual layers of stakeholders working in and servicing tourism in the Solomon Islands, survey and focus group participants were recruited using stratified sampling. The Context, Mechanism and Outcome configuration was used to assess the context in which benefits were being generated through tourism and the expected outcomes by stakeholders about the benefits and beneficiaries of tourism interventions. Furthermore, this research has demonstrated how a holistic understanding to increase the effectiveness of tourism interventions can be delivered by evaluating what works, for whom, how and in what circumstances and respects? Realism is a philosophy which sits between positivism, a thing that exists in the real world which can be directly observed and facts can be derived from, and constructivism, referred to as being formed from observations and scrutinised through human senses and the human brain (Pawson, 2006). To the researcher’s knowledge, the realist evaluation methodology which derives from realism, has not previously been used in the Pacific to evaluate tourism interventions. Applying a realist lens, this research has examined the interrelationships between benefits, beneficiaries and impacts from tourism in a developing country. As a sophisticated method, the realist evaluation methodology can overcome some of the existing limitations experienced with frequently applied models including the logical framework, participatory evaluation and impact assessment. These difficulties include applying results and effecting changes in policy and programs, inflexible approaches with predetermined outcomes, a lack of focus on beneficiaries and high costs resulting in reduced benefits. Using a realist approach demonstrated the methodology provided the ability to apply results and develop evidence to inform changes in policy and programs. Furthermore, the flexible approach enabled the researcher to capture all outcomes during the evaluation process which provided a holistic focus on benefits and beneficiaries of tourism in a developing country. Lastly, the methodology was also cost effective and easy to use where stakeholders identified that most, if not all outcomes could be applied to increase local benefits through tourism. With a paucity of research to inform policymakers of likely attitudes amongst stakeholders, varied perceptions about how local people could benefit from tourism interventions existed prior to this research. The research findings demonstrated that rigorous, transparent, and inclusive approaches could assist to identify the underlying causal mechanisms of interventions to sustainably increase benefits to communities. As a small and fragile industry, which can permanently impact local people and the environment, tourism stakeholders have called for sophisticated and systematic evaluation approaches with the capability to strengthen institutional frameworks. The research found that holistic approaches could aid communities to better manage cultural and physical environments to increase local benefits. Building on this knowledge, a conceptual model to evaluate tourism interventions using a realist approach was developed to explain how benefits could be increased through evaluation processes. The model suggests the methodology is implemented through three focus areas (purpose, approach and outcomes), over four phases to examine what works, for whom, how, in what circumstances and respects.