Organizational Communications in Developing Ethnic Tourism: Participatory Approaches in Southwest China

Ethnic tourism promises to solve rural development challenges, create employment, and preserve indigenous heritages. However, the development process is not always empowering. Often-cited problems are organizational communication challenges and conflicts that characterize partnerships among ethnic minority villages, tourism management companies, and government agencies. Such communication difficulties characterize ethnic tourism development processes in many parts of China. This article reports on a case study conducted in the famous Xijiang Thousand Households Miao Village (Xijiang Quianhu Miaozhai), Guizhou, China. Specifically, we investigate the determinants and nature of common organizational communication problems experienced by ethnic communities in the process of tourism development. Survey and interview data indicate that changes in local governance, clashes in tourism management, and a lack of agreement on the meaning of "community participation" created organizational communication problems manifested in conflicts among tourism managers and villagers, administrative districts/villages, and groups within the villages. Drawing from development communication and organizational communication literature, the authors assess the possibilities of applying participatory communication as a strategic approach to conflict resolution. On the basis of critical analysis, the authors offer four recommendations for adapting the participatory approach to address organizational communication problems in ethnic tourism development sites: (1) value participation, (2) develop clear understanding of what empowering participatory communication entails, (3) integrate the indigenous mode of communication/participation, and (4) hybridize the participatory communication approach to accommodate the conditions and limitations that prevail in the specific context.