Party tourism impacts on local stakeholders

ABSTRACT

This paper presents residents’ perspectives on the impacts of party tourism in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from local stakeholders via surveys (n = 193) and semi-structured interviews (n = 23). Survey results demonstrate that party tourism’s economic benefits do not outweigh the social costs, which was surprising given the early stage of tourism development. Findings also suggest that older generations and those uninvolved in the industry perceived party tourism impacts more negatively than younger and economically reliant respondents. Semi-structured interviews elaborated on resident perspectives and lead to recommended pathways for mitigating negative party tourism impacts and also validate the need for a better understanding of the role of party tourism in destination development.

KEYWORDS:

• Party tourism
• resident perspectives
• destination image
• risk perceptions
• Panama

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leon Mach

Leon Mach is a study abroad educator. His research focuses on environmental and social justice, as well as tourism governance. He also co-founded the International Association for Surfing Research, Panama.

James Connors

James Connors is an Environmental Studies student at Bucknell University, USA.

Bronya Lechtman

Bronya Lechtman is an Environmental Policy student at Colby College, USA.

Sam Plante

Sam Plante is a Biology student at Vassar College, USA.

Calle Uerling

Calle Uerling is a bonobo researcher at Ape Initiative, USA.