What if the local community is already well-off enough? Stakeholders’ conflicts over sustainable tourism development in remote communities

Purpose This study aims to explore community involvement in sustainable tourism development (STD) at Siwa Oasis, Egypt, and examines the perspectives of local communities, visitors and governmental decision makers concerning the area’s STD plans. It provides a brief discussion on the stakeholders’ conflict of interest alongside exploring the costs and benefits of STDs for the community. This study examines the area’s problems and challenges and expands the discussion on STD by providing a deep understanding of the oasis context, which involves a broad range of issues. Design/methodology/approach In this exploratory study, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with three groups of stakeholders (local community, governmental decision makers and visitors) to investigate the current practices of STD and the future vision for the area. Data were coded and interpreted using thematic analysis. Findings This paper provides empirical insights into how STDs can be practised in an oasis context. It suggests there is a conflict between the governmental vision for the area and the community’s needs that could lead to a failure to implement STDs. Themes related to environmental, social and economic STD dimensions are discussed. The findings provide managerial and practical implications for decision makers on the promotion of STDs in remote communities. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the results may lack generalizability. Therefore, future studies are encouraged to test the study’s propositions further by using a mixed-methods approach, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications This paper has implications for STD within an oasis context, particularly concerning balancing the economic, environmental, political and social aspects of STD. Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified need to study how STD can be practised when most of the local community is already comparatively well-off economically.