An Investigation of Differences in Residents' Perceptions on the Sunshine Coast: Tourism Impacts and Demographic Variables

Abstract

This study investigates the differences in residents' perceptions of various tourism development impacts by the location of their residence, gender, age, annual household income level, ethnic background, occupation and the level of education attained. A survey approach was used to collect data from residents of the Sunshine Coast region (n = 732). The study found that more residents living in the coastal area with high tourist activity nearby perceived a higher positive impact of tourism than residents of hinterland areas in the vicinity of high tourist activity. However, the residents of hinterland areas were more likely to perceive social impact positively than the people living in coastal areas. The results also suggest that the residents of suburban areas perceived economic impact positively when compared with the residents of rural or urban areas. Significant differences were also noted for perceptions of tourism impacts according to respondents' level of household income, ethnic background and occupation. However, there is no notable difference in the perceptions of tourism impact in relation to respondents' age, gender and level of education. Résumé : Examen de diverses perceptions de résidents : impacts du tourisme et variables démographiquesCetteétude examine les différentes perceptions de résidentsà propos du développement du tourisme d'après leur lieu de résidence, leur genre, leurâge, leurs revenus annuels, leur origine ethnique, leur profession et leur niveau d'études. Un questionnaire a servi pour collecter les avis de résidents de la 'Sunshine Coast' (n = 732). Cetteétude a montré qu'un plus grand nombre de résidents vivant dans la zone côtière, où il y a une forte activité touristique, avait une perception positive en comparaison avec ceux vivant dans l'intérieur où existe aussi une forte activité touristique. Cependant, les résidents de l'intérieurétaient plusà même de percevoir les impacts sociaux de façon positive que ceux qui vivent sur la côte. Les résultats de cetteétude suggèrent aussi que les résidents en zones suburbaines perçoivent les impactséconomiques de façon plus positive que les résidents des zones rurales ou urbaines. Il existe aussi des différences nettes dans la façon de percevoir les impacts du tourisme selon les revenus, l'origine ethnique ou la profession. Par contre, le genre ou le niveau d'études n'engendrent pas de différence notable.

The Host-Tourist Interaction in a World Heritage Site: The Case of Guimarães

“…In the last twelve years, we can retain the investigations envisaging this same issue held by Lawson, Williams, Young, and Cossens (1998), Besculides, Lee, and McCormick (2002), Kuvan and Akan (2005), Sharma andDyer (2009), McDwall andChoi (2010), among several others.…”

“…The sample we made use in our investigation follows the socio-demographic characteristics of other ones undertaken in similar empirical researches (see for example, Sharma & Dyer, 2009), even if one must take into account a few differences in the social and economics status of the survey respondents.…”

“…Taking different approaches, most of the research conducted explores residents' socio-demographic characteristics, trying to establish a link between that and their perceptions and attitudes regarding the tourism industry (e.g., Lawson, Williams, Young, & Cossens, 1998;Brunt & Courtney, 1999;Besculides, Lee, & McCormick, 2002;Kuvan & Akan, 2005;Sharma & Dyer, 2009). …”

“…Other variables that can also influence the residents' perceptions are: tourist-resident contact; proximity to resorts; economic dependency; economic and tourism development; level of knowledge about tourism; and involvement of residents in tourism decision making (Cordero, 2008;Sharma & Dyer, 2009). Some of those variables do not have been taken into account by several of the researchers.…”

“…In relation with that question, the question 11 included a total of 14 items encompassing residents' perceptions of tourism impacts. These items were selected based on previous empirical studies concerning economic, socio-cultural and environmental tourism impacts (Williams & Lawson, 2001;Besculides, Lee, & McCormick, 2002;Kuvan & Akan, 2005;Jackson, 2008;Sharma & Dyer, 2009). Additionally, we followed and adapted a questionnaire applied by Monjardino (2009) to Azores Islands, dealing with the issue of residents' perception of its tourism development.…”