While community-based tourism (CBT) is a widely promoted sustainable development strategy, its effectiveness relies heavily on local governance.This study examines how sociocultural dynamics, governance gaps, economic vulnerabilities, and environmental barriers shape CBT initiatives in Basilan, a socio-politically complex and historically marginalized region.Using a qualitative design, data was collected through key informant interviews, focus groups, and stakeholder surveys across four CBT destinations and analyzed thematically with descriptive triangulation.Findings reveal that CBT challenges in Basilan stem primarily from structurally embedded governance weaknesses rather than a lack of community commitment.The constraining effects of sociocultural dynamics and market instability intensify when combined with unclear institutional roles, fragmented inter-agency coordination, and inconsistent monitoring.Furthermore, environmental barriers-such as poor waste management and weak conservation enforcement-are governance-mediated, reflecting insufficient institutional accountability.Ultimately, governance gaps are the central factor driving uneven CBT outcomes.The study demonstrates that sustainable CBT depends less on local motivation and more on coherent, inclusive governance.To enhance resilience in marginalized destinations, these findings highlight the critical need for actionable policy interventions, including standardized monitoring systems, legally clarified administrative responsibilities, and unified inter-agency frameworks.
Abegail C. Indama (Thu,) studied this question.