The Role of Local Government in Tourism Development: Evidence from Kuakata, Bangladesh

The lack of well-designed planning and effective management of tourism development in Bangladesh may cause the destructive force, associated with negative externalities such as the loss of natural landscapes, congestion, environmental and cultural degradation. In tourism development, the effective role of local government is necessary to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well–being to the local communities. Many literature studies have scrutinized how the development of tourism involves collaborative relationships between the various local actors and stakeholders that participate in tourism development. Using the evidence of tourism in Kuakata, this paper contends that it is essential to understand the roles, responsibilities and benefits of all stakeholders of a specific tourist destination from sustainable tourism practice and policy and also how they retort to its adoption. The aim is to find the paramount way to develop tourism towards sustainability in Kuakata according to the main stakeholders: local government members, local community people, hotel owners and employees, and tourists, focusing mostly on the obstacles and undesirable issues. Results of this study point out the fact that there is a wide range of influences that constrain Kuakata tourism development from adopting more sustainable tourism practices. All of these aspects play a crucial role in manifestation the actions of all stakeholders concerning sustainable tourism development.