Impact 2017 Impact 2017 | Page 29

Interested in this project? Professor Paul Lynch The Business School [email protected] Most importantly, there is a need for mentoring. Homestay tourism has relatively low barriers to entry – after all, limited home upgrades are necessary – but the perceived barriers are high. Through mentorship and networking, rural communities can benefit from engagement and encouragement. NEPAL PAKISTAN CHINA BHUTAN HIM A LAY AS A community-led approach is vital INDIA In its conclusion, the study points out that there is a danger homestay enterprises might simply evolve into small scale hotels. If this were so, the traveller would be denied the very experience they came looking for and that rural areas are uniquely able to provide. It is crucial that communities develop their own approaches, with support and guidance from external organisations. But this support should seek to enforce home-level not hotel- level standards. Jyoti Sood, from Arizona State University, worked alongside Paul Lynch and Constantia Anastasiadou, both from Edinburgh Napier’s Business School, on the study. Get the whole story at www.napier.ac.uk/impact 29