Introduction

1Travel and tourism have been playing an extremely important role in various global economies in recent decades, showing trends of growth. In 2022 it presented a contribution of 7,6% to global GDP, an increase of 22% from 2021 and only 23% below 2019 levels, when it achieved the record of 10,4% (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2023).

2Considering this, many Least Developed Countries – LDCs – perceive tourism to achieve the desired development, attempting to establish themselves as tourist destinations. However, tourism development does not equal sustainable development, sometimes leading to the emergence and intensification of certain problems and challenges.

3Unfortunately, the case studies on the impacts of tourism in Least Developed Countries are scarce, making it difficult to analyse their contexts in detail and implement action and preventive measures. However, despite the limited information available, it is possible to collect data that enables to highlight the constraints in optimizing tourism development for national development, particularly through economic leakages (Diaz Benavides, 2001; Kamuzora and Jeyacheya, 2019), lack of access of local communities to value chains (Snyman and Spenceley, 2012), difficulty in collecting taxes due to the informal economy, disrespect for natural resources (Matias et al., 2022), conflicts between investors and the local population, sexual tourism (DW, 2023; Martins and Moreira, 2023; Nyanzi et al., 2005), among others, which could result in an increase of the existing social inequalities.

4Therefore, this research aims to analyse and define stakeholders’ perception and expectations regarding how tourism can be used to catalyse sustainable development, , their perspective on the positive and negative impacts of tourism, and thus to allow the presentation of possible courses of action to overcome them.

5The study involved i) semi structured interviews, and ii) content analysis by the Quintuple Helix Model. 21 interviews were conducted between May 13^th and October 15^th, 2022, with different stakeholders of Guinea-Bissau, categorized in five groups (helices): academia, private, public, and environmental agents, and civil society (locals and tourists).

6The results are presented and discussed, along with the theoretical and empirical aspects, the limitations, and future perspectives of the research.

I. Sustainable development and tourism in the Global South

7The evolution of literature regarding tourism for development and poverty reduction goes through four main historical periods of approach, where different principles, paradigms, and development theories are debated (Figure 1).

8According to the evolution defined by Novelli (2017), the first phase, in the 1950s and 1960s, viewed tourism as a mean of modernization through economic growth, job creation, and knowledge sharing, with the belief that its benefits would eventually reach the disadvantaged. It was also during this period that the first neocolonial approaches to tourism for development and exploitation of natural resources by developing countries began to emerge.

9In the 1970s, dominated by economic neoliberalism, foreign direct investment was seen as a way to stimulate stagnant economies, with tourism investment being a new opportunity to attract foreign trade. However, by the end of this phase, the expected results regarding economic development and social benefits had not been achieved. This approach revealed a dependence on foreign capital (Clancy, 1999), inefficiency, slow economic growth, as well as an increase in social and economic disparities and profit repatriation (Brohman, 1996).Local cultures and social structures were often also devalued and weakened.

10The third phase, in the 1980s and 1990s, maintains the perception of the economic aspect of tourism for development, as a way out of debt, encouraging foreign investment, and developing the private sector to provide employment and promote international trade. However, the 1980s are also marked by the emergence of alternative strategies that place environmental sustainability and the involvement of local communities. It is in this phase that local culture and knowledge are put as a basis for tourism development, advocating for the development of policies that combine modernization with local and traditional knowledge. At the end of this phase, in the 1990s, the anti-globalization lobby saw tourism as an advance of capitalist forces into more remote places and cultures. Holden et. al (2011) mentions post-colonial writers who note tourists' fascination with poverty and its association with more authentic cultural and natural experience

11In the fourth and final phase of Novelli (2017) model, in the 2000s, there is a noted difficulty in determining the guidelines and parameters for successful tourism development for poverty reduction. For the first time, the term ‘tokenistic involvement’ in communities is introduced, defining a situation where it appears that locals are involved in decision-making when, in reality, their influence is minimal (Gutierrez, 2023; Tosun, 2000). It is in this final phase that the real barriers of tourism and development are understood, as well as the limitations of the socioeconomic progress achieved, largely due to the lack of prioritization of empowerment and capacity building as means for community development, in favour of economic outcomes and commercial goals.

12The evolution of the concept of sustainable development and its approach tends to follow the evolutionary chronology represented in Figure 1, with a tendency towards the prioritization of economic growth which, inevitably, results in serious environmental and social consequences, requiring a paradigm shift.

13It is widely understood by scholars (Hajian and Jangchi Kashani, 2021; Higgins-Desbiolles, 2010; Mihalic, 2020; Neiva Fernandes and Eusébio, 2014; Pan et al., 2018; Sharpley and Telfer, 2008) that the concept of sustainable development strengthened in 1987 with the publication of Our Common Future, commonly known as the Brundtland Report.

14Hajian and Jangchi Kashani (2021) in their evolutionary analysis of the concept, make a very interesting remark regarding the distinction between the concepts of development and growth, and the preference for using the former. Growth is understood as reflecting only the quantitative aspect of countries, without considering other qualitative elements such as education, health, and equality. The argument is that growth is a quantitative increase on a physical scale, while development is qualitative improvement or the unfolding of potentialities.

15Therefore, the concept of sustainable development has evolved from an ecological strategy to recognizing four essential pillars: economic, social, cultural, and environmental, transforming it from a focus on environmental preservation to a comprehensive approach.

II. The four pillars of sustainable tourism for the development of the LDCs and their challenges

16The scope of sustainable development and sustainable tourism is revealed even further important in LDCs, which perceive it as a lever, mainly economic. Thus, we will follow the action of tourism, in these countries, in the four pillars defined for sustainability, economic, environment, culture and social impacts.

17The economical dimension is inevitably one of the main priorities of the LDCs in their approach to tourism development, as seen in Figure 2, where the references on the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study – DTIS – on how tourism can contribute to development are mainly economical. Therefore, is pertinent to evaluate several aspects.

18Snyman and Spenceley (2012), in their analysis of the African continent, with the largest concentration of LDCs, define three key mechanisms of sustainable tourism for poverty reduction on the continent, (i) employment, (ii) equity in business ownership (enterprise), and (iii) procurement through links to value chains, in which have been observed several constraints.

19The provision of employment to local communities is one of the most direct ways to benefit the population and reduce poverty. However, this reality isn’t always witnessed, either by a lack of qualified local workforce or the offering of qualified foreign labour at competitive costs. The issue necessitates governmental action and legal provisions, as there is often a discrepancy between political provisions and the institutional framework supporting local employment.

20The Maldives, a country that graduated from the category of Least Developed Country in 2011, is one of the countries that more comprehensively addresses the issue of local employment in its DTIS, both in terms of gender representation and representation of local workers. While it still held the LDC status, the country faced the challenge of more than half of the tourism jobs being filled by foreign workers, prompting the enactment of legal provisions to limit foreign employment (United Nations Development Programme, 2011).

21Regarding equity in business ownership, there are different operational agreements, with benefits varying depending on the arrangements between the involved parties. Community involvement in equity conditions presents a higher level of engagement in community-based tourism (CBT) and is more limited in public-private partnerships. However, in most cases, tourism is operated without community equity, with the purely private model being commonly observed.

22Initiatives for CBT have developed mainly since the 1980s when community involvement began to be widely valued (Stone and Stone, 2011). It is suggested to provide livelihood security, minimal leakage of money, efficient conflict resolution, increased social support capacity for local communities, and better conservation. The intervention of various NGOs and development agencies allowed the development of several of these initiatives, which proliferate across Africa, Asia, and the neotropics.

23For poverty reduction, the level and distribution of economic benefits in CBT depend on the attractiveness of the tourism asset (Tamir, 2015), the type of operation, the nature and level of community involvement (Shikida et al., 2010), as well as the destination of the earnings, whether they are directed towards private incomes or channelled into community projects and/or other mechanisms for benefit distribution.

24Several problems associated with the development of this approach are detected, such as the high cost for its establishment and the creation of high expectations that are sometimes not met. It is also predicted some instability by project sponsors, who may withdraw their support at any time, as there is rarely an obligation and commitment to support until the project becomes sustainable. It is important to note that communities are often not equipped to provide services at the tourists’ standards, leaving large-scale tourism operations without competition or incentives for wealth distribution.

25Thus, it is possible to conclude the concept of this community-based approach needs to be reconfigured (Burgos and Mertens, 2017; Spenceley, 2008), especially when the main goal is poverty reduction, by placing project sustainability, commercial focus, and financial independence of third parties as equal priorities, alongside social empowerment, sustainability, and justice, ensuring maximum capitalization and optimization of projects.

26Regarding equity in business ownership, there are three other possibilities: public-private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures, and the purely private approach.

27One of the best examples of successful public-private partnerships (PPPs) and joint ventures is represented in a study conducted by Varghese (2008) on the marketing strategy of South Africa's national parks (SANParks) through a public-private partnership. The main goals were to reduce dependence on state funds and improve service efficiency. In this case, the combination of conservation expertise from the public entities managing the national parks with the business experience of private companies allowed for the maximization of benefits. This included job creation, improvement of services, infrastructure, workforce capacity building, and community development, consequently leading to a reduction in poverty levels through sustainable employment.

28Another perspective on the successful development of a tourism business, which is beginning to replace CBT initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, is through joint ventures partnerships. This initiative recognizes that partnerships where communities provide resources (such as land or natural attractions) and the private sector contributes with the business perspective and network (such as customer bases, contacts with tour operators, business planning, and promotional experience) allows for a dynamic that benefits both parties (Snyman and Spenceley, 2012).

29These joint ventures between communities and private tourism operators can have great potential, generating revenue, and are more likely to succeed than purely community-based projects. However, communities often require assistance in organizing and asserting their rights, as well as understanding their obligations in partnerships.

30The final approach in equity business ownership concerns the private sector investment and is commonly used by African states due to the lack of commercial focus to generate revenue, relying on the private sector for management and maintenance assistance.

31Private investment offers advantages such as identifying opportunities, developing strategic business plans, establishing stakeholder contacts, expanding networks, and supporting secondary activities, enhancing destination development strategies and benefiting communities and livelihoods (Simpson, 2008). However, this approach has a significant limitation for the success of community benefits and poverty reduction, depending on ethical objectives and the level of involvement each investor intends to have with the community, through offering local employment, philanthropic actions, infrastructure construction and development, and social projects.

32The third and final key mechanism is acquisition through value chains linkages, directly related to the first two. The term value chain refers to the sequence of business-related activities, from the supply of specific inputs for a particular product, through primary production, transformation, marketing, to the sale of the final product to consumers (Springer-Heinze, 2007).

33Thus, by defining the value chain, we realize the broad scope and diversity of value chains in tourism, from touristic entertainment services to food, transportation, and cleaning services. By ensuring access of local communities to value chains, employment levels, capacity building, sustainability, and development increase, while poverty levels decrease. The greatest potential for financial benefit to communities lies in accommodation, food, handicrafts, purchases, and excursions. Considering that, tourism is an extremely complex economic activity, reliant on various other sectors such as transportation, accommodation, and retail, and is also an export-oriented activity depending on purchases by tourists in their home countries but consumed in another, questions related to economic leakages are often raised.

34During a symposium organized by UNCTAD on Tourism Services, Diaz Benavides (2001) defines the leakage process as the phenomenon in which part of the revenue generated by tourism, instead of being retained by the tourist-receiving countries, is retained by the tourists’ origin countries or repatriated in the form of profits, rents, royalty remittances, repayment of foreign loans, imports of equipment, materials, capital goods, and consumer goods to meet the needs of international tourists, and promotional expenses abroad. UNEP-WCMC suggests the leakage rates can reach up to 80% of revenues retained or repatriated outside of tourist-receiving countries, as cited in Kamuzora and Jeyacheya (2019), although the actual number is very difficult to precise and varies for each territory and political-economic reality.

35To address this issue, it is necessary to understand the reasons why it occurs so prominently in Least Developed and Developing Countries (Kamuzora and Jeyacheya, 2019; Kariyapol and Agarwal, 2020; Rylance and Spenceley, 2017), with a particular focus on the Caribbean and East Africa. Firstly, due to the lack of industries, limited access to raw materials, shortage of skilled labour, and low incomes among the local population that limit the national investment, so these countries heavily depend on foreign investment, multinational leisure, and hospitality businesses, as well as foreign tourists. This creates an extremely vulnerable situation to revenue leakages.

36Therefore, these countries face three challenges in economically benefiting from tourism: (i) access to value chains, (ii) imbalance between national and foreign business owners, and (iii) infrastructure development, education, and capacity building of the local population.

37The environmental dimension to sustainability is one global challenge defined in the SDGs, and the impacts of tourism in it are increasingly evaluated, considering the enormous pressure it places on the environment and the exploitation of its resources. Inevitably, tourism will consume natural resources, however, consumption is increasingly excessive, representing a threat to territories of natural interest, attractive for tourism, but with a more limited and vulnerable resource offering.

38Therefore, there are several negative impacts of unsustainable tourism on the environment(Matias et al., 2022), such as the inappropriate use of land, particularly in the imbalance of urbanization for tourism, changes in hydraulic patterns, water contamination, increased waste production, and threat to ecosystems and species. These environmental challenges pose social consequences, particularly for local communities reliant on natural resources, impacting their subsistence and economy. This highlights the transversality of environmental unsustainability in sustainable tourism dimensions.

39Least Developed and Developing Countries are the most vulnerable territories to these threats. Usually, they do not have sanitation and waste treatment services, and tourism activities will exacerbate these problems and increase pollution levels. The definition of legislation for environmental protection is increasingly a priority to these countries, however, they commonly face challenges in resource allocation, training and supervision, which affects the applicability of the defined legislation (Kolhoff et al., 2013).

40Lastly, in the analysis for sustainability, social and cultural aspects are presented. Considering tourism as the migratory process that currently most enhances intercultural contact, there will be several positive and negative consequences from it. Through the positive perspective, we can state that communities are able to benefit from it, mainly through the exchange of knowledge, skills, techniques, experiences, and ideas, enhancing their development and cultural tolerance. However, negative impacts such as increased conflicts, crime, sexual tourism, degradation of indigenous culture, erosion of values and dilution of the multicultural character of society are mentioned (Lei et al., 2023). Cultural assimilation, particularly in Least Developed Countries, involves adopting tourist-like behaviors and adapting local services to foreigners' expectations and standards.

41These concerns are supported and proven by the testimonies collected in the interviews carried out to the case study’s stakeholders, in Guinea-Bissau, and its government, who recently, after numerous complaints and demands from the local population, released an order that dictates all restaurants to include local gastronomy dishes (Ministério do Turismo e Artesanato, 2022).

42It is important to emphasize that cultural protection measures benefit not only the preservation of a country's cultural elements but also help preserve the uniqueness of the destination, thereby enabling its sustainability as an attractive cultural destination.

III. The case study – Guinea-Bissau

43Guinea-Bissau, classified as Least Developed Country since 1981 by the United Nations, is currently one of the poorest and most fragile countries in the world, having a political and institutional fragility that dates to its independence from Portuguese colonial rule. It is in West Africa, bordering Senegal to the north, Guinea to the east and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west, as represented in Figure 3. Its surface area is 36,125 km², of which 1,500 km² correspond to the country's insular region, the Bijagós Archipelago, stretching up to 300 km in length and approximately 250 km in width.

44The country is one of the most politically unstable, and most prone to coups d'état, with 4 registered, and 17 attempts, since its independence (World Bank, 2023), affecting the country’s economic and social situations, and representing an obstacle to its development. This instability is also reflected in the national tourism organizations that, since 2000, have suffered more than 15 body transitions, with frequent variations in status, between secretariat and ministry (Monteiro, 2022), as well as its designation.

45Its instability in tourism government bodies creates significant obstacles to define strategic plans for tourism in the country, as well as its successful implementation, as there are no conditions for the continuity of strategic programs. This same political situation will affect the attraction of investment by foreign investors, of whom Guinea-Bissau depends on to create conditions for tourism development, mainly regarding infrastructures.

46In the last two decades, the country has shown an increasing trend in the entry of foreign passengers (Figure 4) having started with the entry of 7 800 passengers in 2001 and reached the value of 52 400 in 2019. Despite reaching quite high values, when compared to the beginning of the decade, in 2019 there was decrease in approximately 5%, compared to the previous year, 2018. Although it is difficult to define the causes of this decrease, the year 2019 was, once again, marked by politics, with presidential elections closely monitored by the UN (United Nations, 2019), what could justify this percentage variation.

47The period between 2012 and 2014, is marked by the stagnation of the growing trend in the entry of passengers in the country, probably caused by the 2012 coup d'état. The years of 2002, 2003 and 2004 do not have available data, as do the years after 2019, which limits a more detailed analysis to highlight more recent trends.

48The authors analyzed tourist accommodation in Guinea-Bissau using various sources like Booking.com, Airbnb, NGOs' tourism book guides, and IBAP, enabling the listing of accommodations on the country and its mapping. The informal market in Guinea-Bissau requires thorough research and cross-referencing from various sources to obtain a comprehensive and accurate list. Considering this, it is important to note that the present data, despite being used as a reference, is not binding.

49The capital, with 46% of the existing accommodation in the country, presents a high concentration, essentially motivated by an equal concentration of means of transportation, access to goods and services, as well as business tourism in Bissau.

50In second place, with 26% of the accommodation in the territory, is the Bijagós Archipelago, the main sun and beach destination of the country, along with ornithological, fishing, ecotourism, and sexual tourism, thus justifying its concentration. Despite the dozens of islands that make up the archipelago, with 88 islands and islets classified as a Biosphere Reserve, a concentration was observed in the Bubaque island, with 16 of the 31 existing accommodations. This centralization is motivated by accesses, Bubaque being the only island with a port, with passenger boats arriving directly from the capital, facilitating the arrival of visitors. It is common for tourists, who are visiting the surrounding islands, to arrive at the harbour and, from there, use speedboats offered by the accommodation to get to the destination. The transport to the remaining islands is dependent on transport services provided by the accommodations, with small private boats, making travelling more difficult and expensive. As an example, to travel to Keré island, tourists must drive to Quinhamél and, from there, get the private boat of Kére Ecolodge. About the referred centralization, it is important to mention that Bubaque is the biggest destination of sexual tourism in the country (DW, 2023; Trafficking in Persons - U.S. Department of State, 2023), which is relevant to understand the quantity and variety of the existing services.

51The remaining accommodation is distributed across the mainland of Guinea-Bissau, with special predominance in coastal or nearby areas, such as Canchungo, Buba, Quinhamel, Cacheu, Varela or Mansoa. Of these territories, it is worth highlighting the potential of the Varela region, the only major mainland beach in the country, with a length of 35 kilometres of sand, making it the main destination with potential for the construction of resorts and investment in all-inclusive tourism for the masses, currently representing one of the priorities for investment attraction by the Directorate-General for the Promotion and Investment in Tourism and the Hotel Industry [Direção Geral de Promoção e Investimento Turístico e Hoteleiro], to avoid the concentration in the Bijagós islands and protect its biodiversity (Kassimo Cunha, 2022).

IV. Methodology

A. The semi-structured interview

52The methodology used to collect stakeholders’ perception of tourism in Guinea-Bissau was the semi-structured interview due to its flexibility (Bryman, 2012; Hofisi et al., 2014; Veal, 2018), which was, if fact, necessary, allowing the possibility of changing questions and investigate underlying issues, that may prove to be relevant when conducting the interviews. The available information about tourism in Guinea-Bissau, and the stakeholders’ perception on it, is quite limited and incomplete, making it unwise to develop a structured interview and/or with closed and pre-coded questions. In this context, it was proper to ensure interviewees had the necessary flexibility to expose issues that, most likely, wouldn’t be known by the researcher.

53A total of 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted between May 13^th and October 15^th, 13 in person, and 8 by mobile phone (using WhatsApp),with various tourism stakeholders, divided into 5 distinct groups. It was interviewed 2 public agents, 5 private agents, 4 academia, 1 environmental agent, 5 civil society – locals and 4 civil society - tourist, according to the Quintuple Helix Innovation Model. The interviews were recorded, except Interview no.13, as requested by the interviewee. The content analysis was conducted using NVivo.

B. The Quintuple Helix Innovation Model

54When defining the panel of interviewees, it was selected the Quintuple Helix Innovation Model, including five helices/perspectives, public agents and private sector, academia, civil society, and environment. This innovation model, originated in the Triple Helix, underwent through changes and improvements, following the socio-economic evolution of the 21^st century.

55Triple Helix, centred on academia, industry, and government relations, emphasized knowledge production and innovation as outcomes of the interaction between institutions, academia, and businesses. The Quadruple Helix adds the knowledge/perspective of civil society to the model, arguing that achieving sustainable development in a knowledge-based economy requires co-evolution with social knowledge (Maruccia et al., 2020).

56The Quintuple Helix, the broadest model, contextualizes the triple and quadruple helices, and adds the environmental perspective, reinforcing the necessary socio-ecological transition of the economy and current society. In this model of innovation, society and natural environments of the economy must also be drivers for knowledge production and innovation, defining opportunities for the knowledge economy (Carayannis et al., 2012).

57Following the evolution on the approach to sustainability in tourism and the inclusion of all agents during the development process, it proved to be pertinent to include all five agents in the group of interviewees and categorize their responses, allowing a more detailed analysis of the results, and the detection of agreements and divergences of perspectives among them. However, as pointed out by Iqbal et al. (2022) the phenomenon should by analysed as a whole and not as total of individual components, as they interact and evolve in the forms of clusters and those clusters are further interconnected with other clusters.

V. Results and discussion

58Two of the most relevant questions to understand stakeholders’ perception on tourism, and its possible role in sustainable development in the country, concern the perceived advantages and disadvantages.

59Regarding the advantages (Figure 5), there is a consensus among the different groups on the economic advantage of tourism, with a high percentage of responses focused on economic growth, job creation, development of the primary sector, investment attraction and, consequently, the reduction of poverty levels and improvement on the population's quality of life. With minor representation, interviewees believe tourism could benefit the international image of the country, the development of scientific research on the territory and valorisation of national culture.

60When analysed the perception on the disadvantages of tourism (Figure 6), the same consensus isn’t observed. Even tough sexual tourism has the most mentions it is noted an absence of references from environmental agents and civil society – tourists. Another important point to mention is the nationality of the respondents, as 100% of the references are from citizens of Guinean nationality, highlighting the difference in perception and/or concern between the local population and their visitors and investors. It is noteworthy that in the latter case, none of the foreign private agents and investors interviewed expressed concern about this social phenomenon in the country.

61This question revealed the advantage and importance of the Quintuple Helix Model, considering it presented different perceptions among interviewees, mainly considering civil society – tourists that, rarely, referred disadvantages to the community, but mostly to the preservation of the tourist destination, such as acculturation.

62Secondly, with a representation of 15%, is mentioned the increase of crime in the country, with a total of 6 responses, of which 3 mentions referred to drug trafficking and 2 to human trafficking. The stakeholders’ perspective follows the current criminality score of the country, 5.10, where both matters are referenced (Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2023).

63With a total of 5 answers each, acculturation and environmental degradation are presented as concerns and, with less emphasis, mass tourism, overindustrialization, cultural appropriation, cultural shocks and conflicts between locals and investors.

64Guinea-Bissau is extremely vulnerable to the environmental threats, notably due to the lack of sanitation networks, limited access to clean water for the population, easy contamination of waterways, and a deficiency in waste treatment services. Therefore, the stakeholders' concern regarding the impact of tourism on the environment is important and justified, particularly considering the high dependence of the local population on agriculture and fisheries.

65Additionally, 4/5 of private agents and 1/5 of civil society – locals believe that tourism activity would not bring disadvantages to Guinea-Bissau. These data highlight the prioritization of economic growth by private agents, often to the detriment of potential social and environmental impacts, which may pose a significant obstacle to the promotion of a sustainable development model.

66The considerations regarding the importance of community involvement (Figure 7) in tourism activity focus primarily on the advantages of authentic cultural sharing and the issue of territorial ownership and belonging, which anticipates the management and prevention of conflicts with investors and tourism operators. Due to Guinea-Bissau's ethnic diversity and the ancestry of its territory, the prominence and importance that academia and civil society – local, environmental and public agents give to this issue are understandable. Once more, it is evident the lack of concern of private agents with these matters.

67Stakeholders were questioned about the skills they consider imperative for the population to possess so they can appropriate de benefits from tourism. Among the various responses and suggestions presented (Figure 8), entrepreneurship and financial literacy stand out, aimed at the population's ability to be active investors in tourism development. In second place, it’s improvement of communication skills, reduction of illiteracy, civic knowledge, and investments in hotel schools to allow community access to employment opportunities. Due to the low levels of education in Guinea-Bissau, its territorial, political, and social isolation, and the almost exclusive dominance of local dialects and Creole, communication skills will inevitably be limited, as well as technical skills, placing the local community in a position of labour fragility, with reports of importing more qualified and equally cheap labour, notably from Senegal. However, when analysing the answers by helix, it is possible to note public agents, academia, and civil society – locals, skills valuable for equity in business ownership and access to value chains, which are key mechanisms of sustainable tourism for reducing poverty levels in local communities. Meanwhile, private agents emphasize skills related to infrastructure and human resource development, such as training in healthcare and improving communication skills.

68In summary, there is a widespread agreement among the different interviewed stakeholders on the various topics addressed, especially regarding the advantages of tourism and how it can contribute to the sustainable development of Guinea-Bissau. However, there is a disagreement on the disadvantages, particularly highlighting the issue of sex tourism and its implications for the local community. This divergence in perception from the civil society group – tourists may stem from a lack of information, education, and awareness, limiting a more conscious stance by tourists during their travels, especially regarding the scourge of sex tourism.

69Overall, stakeholders showed sensitivity to the country's current situation, enabling them to conduct a comprehensive self and hetero diagnosis analysis, listing the main obstacles to the country's development, which is still in its embryonic stage regarding tourism activity.

Conclusions

70This study has the merit of looking at tourism in a country in the Global South, which has received little attention from the scientific community that carries out tourism research: Guinea Bissau. With a population of around 1.8 million, Guinea Bissau is a growing, safe tourist destination with a young population and a great tourism potential, due to its islands, natural resources, flora and fauna, ethnic and cultural diversity.

71For the Least Developed Countries of the Global South, tourism is an important economic activity that can contribute to their economic growth and development. However, the reality is that in many of these countries, development is not always sustainable, i.e. it does not always contribute to social inclusion, the reduction of poverty and social inequalities, to the efficient use of natural resources, environmental protection, preservation of heritage and cultural and social values. Political instability, poor infrastructure, lack of skilled human resources, dependence on external financing and investment, among other factors, have jeopardised development and made these countries more vulnerable and dependent on the Global North.

72In destinations in the Global South, such as Guinea-Bissau, tourism must consider local specificities and instigate genuine sustainable development. It must be properly planned and managed, with the active involvement of local communities, enabling them to participate in the decision-making processes and benefit from the development that tourism can bring.

73The empirical research shows that there is a consensus, among the various stakeholders interviewed, that tourism contributes to economic growth and job creation, as well as to the country's international image. However, several disadvantages of tourism are equally registered, and it was in this subject that more discordance was observed between the stakeholders, with less awareness by private agents and civil society – tourists. Therefore, even though Guinea Bissau should structure itself as a tourist destination, it should optimise its resources and involve local communities.

74One of the study’s limitations was the number of interviews conducted, 21. The local community speaks specific dialects, so local interpreters were often needed which, added to the community’s low level of education, limited the interviews. Another limitation is the under-representation of some helices, such as the environmental agents. It was not easy to find members of the local community belonging to this helix who were willing to be interviewed.

75Future research should explore tourism planning and management, focusing on local communities' impact and responsible tourism, monitoring stakeholders, and ensuring sustainability while addressing existing constraints.