Residents’ Attitudes and Sustainable Destination Development: Introducing the Tourism Acceptance Score

Zusammenfassung
Growth maximisation strategies and tourists’ insatiable demand for leisure experiences have contributed to a sustained increase in international tourist arrivals pre-COVID-19. While economic benefits were gained, social and environmental sustainability got threatened in some destinations. The increasing imbalances between local communities and visitors resulted in tensions and emerging anti-tourism attitudes among residents. These eventually risk destination competitiveness and threaten sustainable destination development. With the realisation that the host community’s well-being and residents’ acceptance of tourism are critical for a tourism destination’s success, interest in residents’ perceptions grew among destination management organisations (DMOs) and political decision-makers. However, empirical insights remained scarce and there was limited research on comparative instruments that allow monitoring tourism acceptance over time. This research addressed these knowledge gaps and adopted a quantitative research approach to evaluate how Germans perceive the tourism development in their place of residence. Through population representative samples and using a fully structured online survey, voices were given to at least 2,000 Germans. The survey was repeated from 2019 to 2022 to measure residents’ perceptions over time. Results indicate that Germans are generally positive about tourism in their place of residence, yet a decrease in positive perceptions is noticeable. Results further show that economic benefits of tourism are recognised, yet residents barely see the industry’s role for their own quality of life. These findings stress the need for the implementation of measures that support strengthening tourism acceptance among residents. Given the current roles and responsibilities of DMOs as well as funding sources and human resource deployment, the successful and sustainable implementation of such measures is often limited. However, realising the sustainable development of tourism destinations along the triple bottom line requires not only a shift in DMO structures, roles and responsibilities, but also new tools that measure tourism success beyond economic terms. The newly developed Tourism Acceptance Score supports closing this research and practical gap and provides important insights for tourism academia and beyond.
Vollbeleg
Seeler, Sabrina and Eisenstein, Bernd. "Residents’ Attitudes and Sustainable Destination Development: Introducing the Tourism Acceptance Score". Tourism Destination Development: A Geographic Perspective on Destination Management and Tourist Demand, edited by Markus Pillmayer, Marion Karl and Marcus Hansen, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2024, pp. 197-218. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110794090-010
Herausgeber
Markus Pillmayer, Marion Karl und Marcus Hansen