Individual and Collective Impacts and Residents' Perceptions of Tourism

This study investigates individual and collective impacts of tourism on the residents of Hat Yai City Municipality as well as their perceptions of tourism development in their residential area through a survey conducted among a sample of residents living in 47 communities within Hat Yai City Municipality. Individual impacts are the impacts that satisfy individual needs, while collective impacts are the impacts that meet communal needs. The results of data analysis reveal that residents who benefit from tourism (individually or collectively) perceive tourism more positively than those who do not benefit from it. Although the study finds that residents are a little more concerned about how they, as individuals rather than as a collective group of community, are affected by tourism, it is unable to conclude which one of these impact categories is more influential in forming residents' attitudes.