Tourism partnerships: Harnessing tourist compassion to ‘do good’ through community development in Fiji

Abstract Hotels create opportunities for tourists to 'do good' whilst on holiday, for example through participation in hotel-led programmes involving environmental clean-ups or donations to schools, the purchase of community-made products, or taking community and school tours. These initiatives foster in tourists a sense of compassion for communities in tourist destinations, but at the same time, effectively commodify the desire to 'do good'. Critically, initiatives centre predominantly on the gifting of tangible donations whilst precluding any engagement with either the structural causes of inequalities or the broader priorities of destination communities. Case studies are used to explore community perspectives of initiatives led by luxury hotels to support schools in Fiji. Findings highlight the tension between the commodification of tourist desire to give back to destination communities and their limitations in addressing community development priorities. We consider whether tourist compassion can be harnessed to work for communities through tourism partnerships, and reflect upon the kinds of tourism partnerships that might be effective mechanisms for realising the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, highlighting the need to delink addressing community needs from the feel-good tourist experience.