Community-based tourism in Africa: a systematic review of the status and emerging opportunities

Abstract

Tourism, specifically community-based tourism (CBT), plays a crucial role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite its significance, there exists a knowledge gap regarding the types of CBT initiatives, opportunities, and challenges in rural Africa. This article aims to bridge this gap through a systematic review of the current status of CBT, focusing on geosites and cultural heritage features. A systematic literature review was conducted following the New Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, analyzing content from main scientific publications in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. The review synthesizes emerging knowledge on opportunities, initiatives, and challenges for promoting CBT in Africa based on geosites and cultural heritage features. Findings reveal that CBT initiatives leverage Africa’s unique natural and cultural assets to create opportunities for locally based tourism, foster cultural exchange, and contribute to environmental conservation. CBT in Africa has the potential to promote inclusive and sustainable tourism, benefiting both local communities and visitors. Major challenges constraining CBT initiatives in Africa include inadequate infrastructure, limited research, and insufficient capacity and skills development to promote CBT based on geosites and cultural features. The article acknowledges that CBT initiatives in Africa can benefit local communities through income generation from tourism, contributing to the attainment of the SDGs. This review underscores the importance of a nuanced understanding to inform future initiatives and address existing challenges in the promotion of CBT in rural Africa.