Residents' attitudes and support for tourism development in Bistoon, Iran

Abstract

Community support for tourism is essential for successful tourism development. Presently, tourism managers are giving due recognition and appreciation to the local communities for their role in sustaining these destinations as tourist attractions. Although residents’ support for tourism has been examined in previous studies, elements which affect residents' support for tourism have not been thoroughly identified. This research has attempted to identify elements which affect residents’ support for tourism development. Based on social exchange theory and previous findings, this study proposed a series of hypotheses and developed a theoretical model of residents' support for tourism development. This study is based on a selfadministered survey, hand-delivered to residents of Bistoon. Bistoon, a historical city is one of the popular tourist destinations in Iran and it is on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. Structural equation modelling approach was used to analyse the data. The final model shows the relationships between elements of successful tourism. The findings from the data analysis revealed that ecocentric attitudes, community concern and social identity affect residents' perceptions of tourism impacts. The impacts, include economic, social, and environmental benefits and costs. In addition, the residents' perceptions of tourism benefits in relation to economic, social, and environmental benefits affect their support for tourism development. The model developed in this research provides a theoretical basis to study residents’ attitudes and support for tourism development. It is recommended that tourism planners collect information about the elements based on the model as these could be used to develop appropriate strategies addressing the tourism related issues raised by the local communities.