From tourism impacts to resident support: distinct roles of psychological, social, and political empowerment in coastal tourism development

Residents’ support is essential for sustainable coastal tourism development, yet existing research provides limited understanding of how perceived tourism impacts are translated into support through residents’ empowerment and place-based mechanisms. Previous studies have also often treated empowerment as a single construct, obscuring the distinct roles of its psychological, social, and political dimensions. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory and Stakeholder Theory, this study examines how positive and negative tourism impacts influence residents’ support through place attachment and differentiated empowerment pathways. Survey data from 346 residents of Chaf–Chamkhaleh, northern Iran, were analysed using a two-stage partial least squares structural equation modelling approach. Results show that positive impacts increase and negative impacts reduce support directly, with modest indirect effects through psychological and social empowerment; negative impacts also operate through place attachment. Place attachment does not directly predict support but contributes indirectly through psychological and social empowerment. Political empowerment responds to tourism-related conditions but does not significantly translate into stronger support. The study extends resident-attitude, tourism-empowerment, and place-attachment research by showing that empowerment dimensions perform distinct structural roles. Practically, the findings suggest that coastal tourism governance should strengthen psychological and social empowerment while reducing negative tourism impacts.