Exploring conflicts between stakeholders in tourism industry. Citizen attitude toward peer-to-peer accommodation platforms

Abstract

Purpose The expansion of online platforms for renting tourist accommodations has given rise to a great deal of controversy in society. Likewise, the arrival of tourists in residential settings has led to a wide range of positive and negative impacts, resulting in conflicts between different stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether there is variation in the perception of the impacts associated with peer-to-peer accommodation platforms among different stakeholders? Additionally, it also seeks to investigate what kind of impacts generate the highest level of conflict among stakeholders? Design/methodology/approach Given the relative novelty of the problem, this paper proposes an exploratory study that sheds light on some of the main issues with the purpose of supporting further research in the future. The aim is to analyze which impacts are perceived as more positive or negative by each group and to create indexes of conflict for these groups regarding their perception of the impacts. This study is based on fieldwork carried out in April 2020, which consists of 600 online surveys of local residents in the city of Granada. This city, one of Spain’s main tourist spots, suffers the highest tourist pressure in the country. Findings The exploratory study suggests that the greatest consensus is generated in the assessment of economic impacts, either negative or positive. The greatest conflicts are related to the assessment of the effect of this activity on housing preservation. The group comprising accommodation owners of tourist flats is the one that shows a more dissenting opinion from the rest, confronting especially the group formed by citizens whose income depends on tourism. Originality/value There is a lack of studies on the perception of tourism impacts associated with online tourism rental platforms. This is the first study to analyze both, how the main stakeholders associated with this activity assess the different impacts derived from this form of tourist accommodation as a whole and the conflicts derived from such an assessment. An additional innovation is that the analysis investigates the potential fear of disease transmission caused by tourists. It would be interesting to continue this research by applying the same questionnaire in different environments, such as rural areas or societies with different structures from the one analyzed here. Likewise, future in-depth analysis of some of the conflicts is recommended so as to ascertain their origin.

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“…One source of conflict is the differing needs and expectations of the local population regarding quality of life [39]. Disputes concern the question of "who has the right to the city" [40].…”

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“…Juan M. Hernández, et al proposed a method based on stepwise geographically weighted regression (GWR), which allows travelers to make accurate decisions based on price and personal needs [18]. Mazur, M. et al analyzed the differences in the attitudes and perceptions of stakeholders towards tourism accommodation platforms and found that stakeholders consider them based on economic impacts, noting that the differences in attitudes exist in the protection of housing [19]. Ye, S. et al proposed a theoretical model of memorability based on the generation of ordinary and extraordinary experiences [20].…”

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“…Undoubtedly, this has resulted in inconveniences for local communities (Martín et al, 2021), besides debates about its legitimacy (Bort, 2014) and the method of regulation (Cheng, 2016). The growth of this activity relies on benefits for both the tenants and the owners.…”

“…This investigation is based on field work carried out in the city of Granada (Spain) in 2018. This city is the Spanish destination that receives most tourists per resident and is one of the main locations of urban-cultural tourism in the country (Martín et al, 2021). According to the National Statistics Institute, it receives more than 3.5 million travellers annually, including tourists staying in rented housing and tourists who do not stay overnight (National Institute of Statistics, 2022).…”

“…It can be verified that more than 5.6 million accommodations are available in more than 200 countries and 100,000 cities (The Zebra, 2021). Undoubtedly, this has resulted in inconveniences for local communities (Martín et al, 2021), besides debates about its legitimacy (Bort, 2014) and the method of regulation (Cheng, 2016). The growth of this activity relies on benefits for both the tenants and the owners.…”