5 Sustainability of Homestay as a Form of Community-Based Tourism (CBT): A Case Study of the Rural Community in Bavanat-Iran

This paper aims to give a better understanding of the local community’s perception on the current homestay programme in the Bazm Village located in the Bavanat County of Fars Province of Iran. The socio-economic impacts of tourism on the community is evaluated, together with how its impact will influence future development of homestay to support community-based tourism (CBT). The transactions between visitors and hosts in a homestay concept is a regarded as new in the Iranian tourism industry. With the added dimension of the Islamic rules and values in Iran, a fundamental review is required to gauge the success level of homestay programme in this society and the possible conflicts it poses to the Iranian culture and values. The methodology adopted in this research was of a qualitative nature. Both primary and secondary data were used for this study. Following a series of interviews and focus group discussions with the local community and field observation of the homestay programme, the study concluded that the homestay in Bavanat has contributed greatly to ecotourism primarily in that province and generally in Iran. However, it was also observed that the financial gains and benefits were not proportionally spread across the whole community and was rather limited to the owner, his close acquaintances and travel agencies. Despite its positive socio-economical effects, there is a lack of supervision and strategic support for the Bazm homestay programme. This study recommends the establishment of an organization that sets policies and planning for further development of homestay in Iran with the aim of assisting the local community to have proper participation rights and to receive a proportional distribution of its benefits