Local community support in tourism in Mauritius – ray of light by LUX*

Tourism development is said to be a priority sector for economic growth within Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), generating employment and foreign investment to these countries (Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2011a; b). SIDS also face fierce competition in maintaining their positioning competing with not only existing competitors but also with emerging destinations (Ramkissoon & Uysal, 2011; 2018; Seetaram & Joubert, 2018). Local communities have great expectations from the tourism industry as a source of employment, and they tend to be in support of tourism development in their country (Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2013). However, the local people also get impacted by adverse impacts from tourist activities including waste production, land use and depletion of resources (water, land, marine) (Kim, Uysal, & Sirgy, 2013; Ramkissoon & Durbarry, 2009). Further, local cultures might not always be well grasped by non-locals who work in the tourism sector. While many value diversity, some may tend to impose their own cultures at destinations if they are not well sensitized on respecting the local culture. An important remark in SIDS is that the employment salary provided to the locals is very often just enough for survival. It is a sector which operates 24/7, with work shifts comprising of odd hours, weekends, and public holidays. Tourism workers very often experience burnout if they do not have a manager who fuels them with motivation (Andereck & Nyaupane, 2011). To be able to sustain growth, tourism operators need to ensure that they are creating adequate value within the local community and for this, the local residents’ participation is important (Hwang, Chi & Lee, 2013). The tourism sector has the opportunity to demonstrate sustainable development through implementation of initiatives which involves stakeholder engagement and participation (Byrd, Ca´rdenas, & Greenwood, 2008; Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2017). This chapter uses the Mauritian hotel group LUX* Resorts and Hotels as a case study and discusses the ‘Ray of Light’ social initiative as part of its sustainable tourism development strategy. It further discusses strategies practitioners and policy-makers need to consider to promote sustainability at their organizations embracing tourism as an instrument for positive change.