Community-Based Tourism for Control of the Territory: A Proposal for Tourism Development in Palestine and Beyond

Tourism can serve as a development tool, but it can also negatively impact local people and territories. The current way the tourism sector operates within a neoliberal milieu in many countries does not favour its local control by disadvantaged sections of society. This article argues that community-based tourism (CBT) and its ‘offspring’ approaches, community-based diffused tourism (CBDT) and Special Tourism Zones (STZs) could contribute to reverse this state of affairs. Palestine territories and Palestinians are currently suffering tragic circumstances and the tourism sector in occupied Palestinian territories is not locally controlled and managed. Alternative tourism could offer different possibilities and perspectives. The article proposes approaches to promote CBT (and thus CBDT and STZs) as a channel to contribute to Palestinians’ control of their territories.