Collaborative Governance and Distributed Capacity in Sustainable Rural Tourism Development

Rural tourism development involves multiple stakeholders with different resources, knowledge, capacities, and interests. This paper discusses how collaborative governance can connect these distributed capacities to support joint action and sustainable rural tourism development. Using a literature-based discussion approach, the paper synthesizes studies on collaborative governance, stakeholder participation, capacity for joint action, facilitative government, leadership, trust, and rural tourism. The discussion shows that stakeholder participation alone is insufficient to produce effective collaboration. Joint action requires coordination, relationships among actors, and mechanisms that enable different stakeholders to contribute their respective capacities. The discussion also highlights the important role of village government as a facilitator in connecting local communities with external actors and resources. Edu Wisata Mekarsari Awi is used as a local illustration of how distributed capacities may operate within rural tourism development. Overall, the paper argues that collaborative governance provides an important mechanism for transforming distributed stakeholder capacities into joint action while supporting community interests and sustainable rural tourism development.

collaborative governance; distributed capacity; joint action; rural tourism; stakeholder participation

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