Predicting Resident Intentions to Support Community Tourism: Toward an Integration of Two Theories

Abstract

Community tourism (CT) commonly influences the lives of local residents, and their attitudes in turn greatly affect the tourist experience. This study addresses a gap in the existing literature on CT by proposing a framework that integrates social exchange theory with the theory of reasoned action in order to map residents' decision-making processes about CT development. The results show that the attitude of community residents is a valid predictor of their intention to support tourism. In addition, perceived benefits for residents have a larger impact on attitudes about CT than perceived costs. Finally, the study concludes that the marketing program of a specific community had little impact on resident perceptions of CT development.

Keywords:

• community tourism
• social exchange theory
• theory of reasoned action
• tourism impacts