Can welcoming residents increase tourist satisfaction?

Abstract

Several studies examine residents' attitudes towards tourism development. Similarly, significant research explores the determinants of tourist satisfaction and its effects in planning policies for tourism. The purpose of this study is to establish a connection between these lines of research, showing how the local population may impact upon the way tourists perceive a destination. This study was conducted in the tourist region of Algarve, Portugal, and involves four municipalities bearing different characteristics. Results from statistical analyses show that tourists lodging in municipalities where residents are more positive to tourism experience greater receptiveness and are more satisfied with the tourist experience. The implications for tourism management in heterogeneous tourism regions are discussed.

Keywords:

• residents' attitudes
• tourist satisfaction
• heterogeneous destinations
• categorical principal components analysis
• nonparametric statistics

Acknowledgements

In the preparation of our work, we gratefully acknowledge enlightening comments and suggestions by Professor Jafar Jafari. This research was financially supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal.