Managing Supply and Demand for Sustainability

CBT literature emphasizes that the entire economic supply chain in a region—and not just the supply chain linked to tourism—needs to be understood by the management of a CBT venture in order for it to be sustainable.

Sustainable purchasing policies
Good supply chain management can be enhanced through ‘green’ or sustainable purchasing policies. Ideally, basic products (such as food or building materials) and contract services (repairs or maintenance) should be sourced from nearby regions. If possible, part of the revenue from the CBT venture can be reinvested in the local community (through providing social services or education), which in turn may enhance the resilience and productivity of local suppliers or enterprises.

Limiting the number of visitors
For some CBT projects, limits are set on the number of tourists who can visit the community at any particular time, for example, the Jernigan Ekowisata Desa (JED) Village Eco-tourism Network in Bali has visitor limits, which makes it easier for a small group of visitors to be shown CBT hospitality and ensures that the visitor demand does not outstrip community supply.