Empowerment can generally be thought of as individuals’ or groups’ capacity to determine their own affairs. Notions of empowerment originate from the community psychology literature. For over two decades, tourism researchers have investigated when destination residents are empowered through tourism and what that means within the context of tourism development. Consequentially, resident empowerment has been increasingly recognised as an integral component of sustainable tourism. Successful tourism development is more likely to be achieved when residents’ perspective is recognised and represented in the development process. Thus, since sustainability in tourism starts with residents’ needs, concerns, and welfare, tourism must strive to empower residents before other benefits can occur.