Stakeholder Engagement and the success of the Tourism Revenue Sharing Community Scheme Project: A case of the TRS Project in Nyabihu District, Rwanda

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of stakeholder engagement on the success and sustainability of the Tourism Revenue Sharing (TRS) Community Scheme Project in Nyabihu District, Rwanda. The study focused on four dimensions of stakeholder engagement: communication and information sharing, participation in decision-making, collaboration and partnerships, and capacity building and empowerment. The study was guided by Stakeholder Theory, Participatory Development Theory, and Sustainable Tourism Theory. A descriptive mixed-method approach was used. The target population comprised 145 stakeholders, from whom 106 respondents were selected using Yamane's formula, stratified random sampling, and purposive selection of key informants. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression, while qualitative responses were thematically analysed to complement the quantitative findings. The study achieved a 100% questionnaire response rate. The reliability coefficients for the study scales exceeded 0.70, indicating acceptable internal consistency. Pearson correlation showed positive and statistically significant relationships between communication and information sharing (r = 0.549), participation in decision-making (r = 0.613), collaboration and partnerships (r = 0.637), and capacity building and empowerment (r = 0.635) with project success and sustainability, all at p < 0.001. Multiple regression indicated that the four engagement dimensions jointly explained 54.8% of the variance in project success and sustainability (R² = 0.548; adjusted R² = 0.530; F = 30.569, p < 0.001). Collaboration and partnerships were the strongest significant predictor (β = 0.258, p = 0.009), followed by participation in decision-making (β = 0.237, p = 0.014) and capacity building and empowerment (β = 0.229, p = 0.024). Communication and information sharing had positive coefficients but was not statistically significant at the 5% level (β = 0.169, p = 0.057). Qualitative findings indicated that transparent communication, inclusive decisions, collaboration, training, and empowerment strengthened trust, ownership, and the ability of communities to sustain project activities. The study concludes that stakeholder engagement is an important determinant of TRS project success and sustainability, with collaboration, participation and empowerment showing the strongest independent contributions.