The Impact of Participation and Resource Allocation on Economic Empowerment of Communities through the Bendosari Edu-Tourism Program

This paper explores the subject of rural economic empowerment by examining the Bendosari edu-tourism project of Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The paper targets three levers which often define the occurrence of sustainable local benefits of community-based tourism namely community participation, strategic resource allocation, and the collaboration of stakeholders. A mixed-method research design was used. The quantitative information was collected using a structured questionnaire that was distributed among 100 study participants chosen with the help of the stratified random sampling; the qualitative data was collected with the help of interviews with members of the local community and focus group discussions. The multiple linear regression outcomes suggest that the strongest positive impact on the economic empowerment is played by participation (β = 0.45, p < 0.001), then there is resource allocation (β = 0.38, p = 0.001) and stakeholder collaboration (β = 0.29, p = 0.004). The overall model is statistically significant (F = 25.67, p < 0.001) and explains 61% of the variance in economic empowerment (R² = 0.61; Adjusted R² = 0.59). Qualitative findings help explain the “how” behind these coefficients: participation increases perceived ownership and responsibility, resource support reduces production and market frictions, and collaboration improves coordination, access, and problem solving. The paper adds a reviewer-safe, empirically based explanation of how bundled interventions on edutourism can enhance the livelihoods of the rural population without contravening the ideals of sustainability. The policy implications give more focus to institutionalized participation, selective investment in productive assets and marketing power, and sustainable multi-actor relations in governance.