Stage-based tourism models and resident attitudes towards tourism in an emerging destination in the developing world

Abstract

Many researchers have used stage-based and life cycle models to describe destination development and local residents’ changing reactions to tourism. Typically, they report that resident attitudes towards tourism, and its perceived outcomes for host populations, worsen with increasing experience and involvement in tourism. However, stage-based models traditionally focus on mature destinations in developed countries. In contrast, scholarship on ecotourism derives largely from developing countries and suggests that increased participation leads to more favourable outcomes and attitudes towards tourism. This paper breaks new ground by exploring attitudes to tourism in an emerging destination in a developing country and linking that exploration to a revised stage-based model. It uses ethnographic data to evaluate responses to recent tourism development in Nicaragua. While findings are complex and do not support a linear relationship between the level of experience in tourism and the attitudes of local residents, they do indicate a relationship between these two theoretical perspectives that can be used to inform one another. Notably, workers in tourism are more critical of the tourism industry than residents are. Important amendments to stage-based models are suggested that will assist tourism planners with the creation of more sustainable, community-centred development.

在发展中国家一个新兴目的地里的阶段为基础的旅游模型和居民对旅游的态度

许多研究者使用了阶段为基础的和生命周期模型来描述目的地发展和当地居民对旅游的反应的变化。传统来说，他们报告了居民对旅游的态度，和旅游接待者期望的结果，这随着增长的旅游经验和活动而变差。但是，阶段为基础的模型总是集中在发达国家成熟的目的地上。相比而言，生态旅游研究很大程度上源于发展中国家，而且建议更多的参与会引导至更好的结果和对旅游的态度。该文章通过探讨在一个发展中国家一个新兴目的地的对旅游的态度，并联系开发到一个修改后的阶段为基础的模型来提出创新点。文章使用人群统计数据来分析在Nicaragua对最近旅游发展的反映。结论是复杂的并且并不支持旅游经验度和当地居民态度之间线性关系，但是结论显示了这两个理论观点之间的关系是相互作用的。特别是，在旅游业里的工作者比居民对旅游的态度更加批判性。对阶段为基础的模型的重要修改在文中提出，这会帮助旅游规划者创造出更可持续性的，社区为中心的发展。

Keywords:

• community participation
• ecotourism
• resident attitudes
• tourism impacts
• tourism development
• social change

关键词:

• 社区参与
• 生态旅游
• 居民态度
• 旅游影响
• 旅游发展
• 社会改变

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation Cultural Anthropology Program for supporting the research on which the manuscript is based (Award #0724347, PI Stronza). Additional support during the revision of this manuscript was provided by the Roger & Cynthia Lang and the Helen & Peter Bing Postdoctoral Fellowships at Stanford University. We are also grateful to several anonymous reviewers and Editor Bernard Lane for numerous helpful suggestions that we've incorporated into this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carter Hunt

Carter A. Hunt is an Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management at Penn State University, PA, USA. His research focuses on making tourism more sustainable by assessing the impact of travel on biodiversity conservation and local community development around parks and protected areas, as well as by assessing the impacts of such experiences on visitors’ subsequent behaviour.

Amanda Stronza

Amanda Stronza is an Associate Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University, TX, USA. She is the co-Director of the NSF-IGERT Program Applied Biodiversity Science: Bridging Ecology, Culture, and Governance for Effective Conservation. Her research focuses on collective action for conservation and on how parks, wilderness areas and tourism destinations provide incentives and sources of inspiration for community conservation.