Testing the Efficacy of an Integrative Model for Community Participation

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of an integrative model for community participation in tourism development. Termed as motivation—opportunity—ability (MOA), the model integrated two streams of research, “means” and “ends” oriented studies, with the intent of providing a holistic view of community participation research. To test the hypothesized relationships, data were collected from a stratified random sample of households in Charleston, South Carolina. The data provided some support for the model; the findings suggest that the extent to which community members participate in the tourism development process depends on motivation, opportunity, and ability to participate. Practical and theoretical implications have been discussed within the general framework of community participation.