Abstract:

Community-based tourism (CBT) seeks to increase people’s involvement and ownership of tourism at the destination and initiates from and control stays with the local community. According to Hatton (quoted by Saarinen et al 2009), CBT is one type of tourism that incorporates high levels of community involvement in sustainability. The author maintains that, CBT is local tourism developed in local communities in innovative ways by various individuals and groups, small business owners, entrepreneurs, local associations and governments. CBT can also be linked to some forms of indigenous tourism. Indigenous tourism is defined as tourism activity in which indigenous people are directly involved either through control/and or having their culture serve as the essence of the attraction (Hinch and Butler 1996).This paper seeks  to discuss community –based tourism, its principles, operational and supportive strategies , the community economic development planning strategy and the proposed stakeholder techniques in Ezulwini Valley of the Kingdom  of Swaziland.