Scale development for measuring displacement in rural tourism gentrification: a resident perception perspective

ABSTRACT

Displacement plays a central role in the gentrification process, but reliable instruments to measure the extent of gentrification-induced displacement from the perspective of resident perception have been scarce. Against the broader backdrops of frequent urban-rural interactions, securing community residents’ endorsement emerges as a pivotal avenue for advancing local development projects, exemplified by rural tourism development. Thus, this study used 35 interviews from three typical villages and 706 questionnaires from two regional scales to construct a 5-point Likert scale measuring displacement in rural tourism gentrification. The results revealed two dimensions, direct and indirect displacement, that had slight positive and strong negative effects, respectively, on community residents’ attitudes toward further tourism development. This study provides a window into the complex attitudes of residents and a practical instrument for assessing the risks associated with displacement in local development projects characterized by increased mobility, including rural tourism.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobility
• tourism development
• rural tourism gentrification
• displacement
• scale development
• resident perception

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant no 42171227]; Tianjin Art Science Planning Office [grant no B20014]; and Nankai University [grant no 91923111]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant no 41871132]; China Scholarship Council [202306200079]

Notes on contributors

Weifeng Su

Weifeng Su is a doctoral student at the College of Tourism and Service Management, Nankai University, China.