Impacts of tourism in predicting residents’ opinions and interest in tourism activities

ABSTRACT

The impacts of tourism influence residents’ attitudes and behaviour towards tourists and tourism-related activities such as festivals. Residents are the primary stakeholders of tourism development, considered as the backbone of the industry. Coastal towns such as Jeffreys Bay in South Africa are natural attractions receiving high numbers of tourists regularly. Therefore, on the one hand, residents have to adjust to the influx of tourists, but on the other hand, their support is also needed for the continuation of tourism-related activities and events throughout the year. The objective of this paper is to determine the role of tourism impacts in predicting residents’ opinions and levels of interest in tourism activities. A quantitative survey was completed in Jeffreys Bay, which revealed five tourism impacts. It was evident from the results that tourism should contribute to the development of the destination and the economic welfare of residents to create positive community attitudes. However, the value of the festival is viewed differently since the festival itself is not creating support, but the effects of the festival do. The challenge is to obtain and sustain their support even before they start to benefit from this industry.

KEYWORDS:

• Resident
• tourism
• Jeffreys Bay
• sustainable development

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Jeffreys Bay Tourism.

Notes on contributors

Elmarie Slabbert

Prof. Elmarie Slabbert is the Director of the Tourism Research unit TREES (Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society at North West University and a professor in Tourism Management. Elmarie completed her PhD in 2005 and has since then focused her research on tourism marketing and - management challenges as well as the impact of tourism on communities. Elmarie is the chairperson of Southern African Institute for Management Scientists and the Tourism Educators of South Africa. She has authored and co-authored 50 peer reviewed articles, 10 accredited conference proceedings and since 2005, 54 Masters students and 24 Doctorate students completed their studies with success under her guidance. At an international level she has presented more than 51 papers at international conferences and also a number of keynotes. She served on the Research Forum of the Minister of Tourism for 8 years. In 2013, she was the second-runner up for the Women in Science Award by the Department of Science and Technology. She is a rated researcher for the National Research Foundation.

Engelina du Plessis

Prof. Engelina du Plessis s currently a full Professor in the School for Tourism Management and TREES and specialises in tourism competitiveness and management issues. She is dedicated to the development of her students and research. Prof. Du Plessis has been dynamically involved in the industry by assisting in various tourism projects. She received a C3 rating as an established researcher by the NRF in 2018. She has co-written a book for the game farm industry called: Hunting and game farm tourism (2013), which is also being used by students as the textbook for the third year module. She has been responsible for eight chapters in various tourism textbooks. She has successfully delivered post-graduate students as supervisor and promoter. She has published thirty-one accredited articles. She has acted on the editorial board for the Journal of Revenue and Pricing and was a panel member for the National Department of Tourism. She is also a member of The Southern African Institute for Management Scientists.

Oghenetejiri Digun-Aweto

Dr Oghenetejiri Digun-Aweto is an academic researcher in the research unit TREES (Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society at North-West University (South Africa). He has over ten years of experience working in urban economic development, environmental sustainability, and tourism. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Ibadan in ecotourism and environmental conservation and has published numerous articles and presented his findings at local and international conferences. He is the lead founder of Preserve the Environment Initiative (PEI), a non-governmental organisation aimed at promoting conservation and environmental sustainability. Dr Digun-Aweto has experience working as a consultant with The World Bank, The Department for International Development and ICF International, and the University College London.