sustainability Review Why Community-Based Tourism and Rural Tourism in Developing and Developed Nations are Treated Differently? A Review Seweryn Zielinski 1 , Yoonjeong Jeong 2 , Seong-il Kim 2,3 and Celene B. Milanés 4,* 1 Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, Korea;
[email protected] 2 Department of Forest Sciences, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea;
[email protected] (Y.J.);
[email protected] (S.-i.K.) 3 Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea 4 Department of Civil and Environmental, Universidad de La Costa, Calle 58#55-66, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 30 June 2020; Accepted: 20 July 2020; Published: 23 July 2020 Abstract: Rural community tourism initiatives in developed nations share most positive and negative characteristics with community-based tourism (CBT) initiatives in developing nations. They also share many barriers and conditions for tourism development. What makes them different is the context in which they operate. This paper identifies the main conditions that explain these differences through a review of findings from 103 location-specific case studies and other available literature that provides empirical evidence. The paper also explores the usage of the concepts of CBT and rural tourism. The findings are discussed under seven categories: Definitions, socioeconomic and cultural factors, policy and governance, land ownership, community cohesiveness, assimilation of external stakeholders, and type of visitors. It is argued that it is the developing-/developed-nation context, and not objectively established criteria, which largely dictates authors’ narratives with corresponding takes on tourism development and subsequent recommendations.