Community-Based Tourism in Dima Hasao District, Assam: An Empirical Assessment of Economic Opportunities, Tourism Dependence, and Development Challenges

Abstract

Community-based tourism (CBT) is increasingly promoted as a strategy for generating local economic benefits; however, empirical evidence from Dima Hasao District, Assam, remains limited. This exploratory cross-sectional study surveyed 43 residents to assess perceived economic opportunities (Q30–Q33), tourism-development barriers (Q37–Q43), and overall perceived challenges (Q44). Data were analysed using ordinal logistic regression, Friedman, Kruskal–Wallis, Wilcoxon, and Spearman correlation tests. A sensitivity analysis was conducted after excluding 17 participants exhibiting uniform response patterns (n = 26). Results indicated strong agreement regarding CBT-related economic opportunities, with 83.7% of respondents selecting Strongly Agree for each opportunity item. Ordinal logistic regression revealed no statistically significant association between tourism-income dependence and perceived economic opportunities (χ²(2) = 0.037, p = .982). Financial constraints (ρ = .676) and infrastructure inadequacy (ρ = .544) were positively associated with overall perceived challenges. However, only the association with financial constraints remained statistically significant in the sensitivity analysis (ρ = .514, p = .007). The findings highlight financial and infrastructural barriers as important considerations for CBT development in Dima Hasao. Nevertheless, the small sample size, pronounced ceiling effects, and cross-sectional design limit generalisability and preclude causal interpretation.