Understanding Effects of Tourism on Residents: A Contingent Subjective Well-Being Approach

Abstract

Research regarding tourism’s effect on the subjective well-being (SWB) of destination residents has provided important insight, but it generally has relied on indirect analyses and diverse measures. This study used livability theory and a novel contingent SWB method in which respondents directly reported anticipated SWB effects. This method is exploratory, but it provides greater confidence in causal relationships. Results from a general population survey in Oregon (USA) suggested the method functioned as intended. County-level population growth and visitor intensity predicted perceived current impacts of tourism. In turn, perceived impacts predicted change in SWB contingent on a vignette reflecting a 20% increase in tourists. Across all individuals and counties, average SWB changes were negative for the environment domain and positive for other domains. Practical implications are discussed, with the most positive SWB effects from tourism development expected to occur in counties with low visitor intensity, especially those with low population growth.

Emerging Research Trends on Residents’ Quality of Life in the Context of Tourism Development

“…A geographic distribution of these empirical studies based on the United Nations’ country classification (UN DESA, 2021) was presented in supplement Figure 2. China was featured most frequently (28 studies; e.g., Liang & Hui, 2016), followed by the United States (17 studies; e.g., Lindberg et al, 2021), the Republic of Korea (10 studies; e.g., Lee et al, 2018), and Malaysia (eight studies; e.g., Eslami et al, 2019), with each country or region representing more than 5% of all chosen studies. Out of the 171 articles, 114 pertained to developing economies and economies in transition.…”

“…Moreover, studies based on perceptions of residents’ QOL and perceived impacts often undervalue the effects of objective living standards, a core domain in QOL measurement; biased policy implications may follow. Some scholars have made progress in improving results’ generalizability and mapping out realistic policy implications by i) adopting objective scales (e.g., the HDI) to assess residents’ QOL (e.g., Croes et al, 2020); ii) incorporating objective TD indicators into evaluations of residents’ subjective QOL scales (e.g., Ivlevs, 2017; Lindberg et al, 2021); and iii) aggregating subjective QOL constructs at a national level, such as within the gross happiness index (e.g., Pratt et al, 2016) and country happiness index (Lee et al, 2020). In the latter case, the characteristics of TD are merged at a national level and are then further evaluated based on indicators of tourist intensity.…”

“…Importantly, in the context of COVID-19, society and industry are facing sweeping economic, social, and environmental changes. Few scholars have pondered TD and potential consequences for residents’ QOL amid the pandemic (e.g., Lindberg et al, 2021; Ramkissoon, 2020). Subsequent work can outline ways to respond effectively to this crisis while harnessing opportunities to foster resilient, inclusive, and sustainable tourism development.…”

“…Jordan et al (2021) delineated the impacts of psychological stress related to residents' perceptions of tourism impacts and QOL. Liveability theory, which presumes that the fulfillment of human needs (depending on one's inner abilities and external living conditions) affects subjective well-being, has been applied to interpret the role of tourism growth in residents' subjective well-being as well (Lindberg et al, 2021).…”

Babymoon Tourism: Co-Creating Well-Being for Traveling Mothers

“…However, mothers' own experiences of how babymoon travel enhances well-being are to my knowledge largely overlooked in the tourism literature, despite notable exceptions (Gabor and Oltean 2019;Small 2005;Voigt and Laing 2010). The study thus adds to the body of literature on well-being (Lindberg et al 2022;Yi et al 2022) by filling the current gap on co-creation of well-being.…”