Residents' Attitudes Towards Diversification Sports Tourism in the Balearics

Abstract

The attitudes and responses of local residents towards tourism development have been extensively studied over the last two decades. The majority of academic articles have focused on local communities and their perceptions of the economic, social and environmental impacts of current tourism. However, there are few studies on how residents feel about the development of new tourism products. This study analyzes, in the case of the Balearic Islands, the Residents' attitudes towards the potential impacts of the development of a new tourism product, sports tourism. The results show general positive perceptions but significant differences among the three islands, namely Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. This leads to the suggestion for a differentiated tourism strategy for the islands.

Keywords:

• policy design
• product diversification
• Residents' preferences
• sports tourism
• stakeholders
• sustainability