Residents’ Attitudes toward Tourism Development: a Literature Review with Implications for Tourism Planning

Planners are increasingly turning to tourism as a viable economic development strategy, as many communities experience industrial restructuring. Consequently, many residents are exposed to tourism for the first time, whereas established destinations experience increasing volumes of tourists. Planners are now challenged with understanding how the public perceives tourism in order to gain local support for tourism projects and initiatives. By exploring the literature on resident attitudes toward tourism development, this article examines (1) resident attitudes toward tourism in relation to socioeconomic factors; (2) spatial factors; (3) economic dependency; (4) resident and community typologies; (5) measuring residents’ attitudes tourism development; and (6) theoretical perspectives such as community attachment, social exchange theory, and growth machine theory. This literature review provides planners with a basis for initiating citizen participation processes related to tourism issues and identifying groups of people concerned about, or opposed to, tourism planning and development in their communities.