RESIDENTS' SATISFACTION WITH COMMUNITY ATTRIBUTES AND SUPPORT FOR TOURISM

This study develops and tests a structural model of residents' support tourism development, with the social exchange theory as its theoretical base. The model incorporates three exogenous latent variables, namely, community satisfaction with neighborhood conditions, community commitment, and satisfaction with community services. Perceived positive and negative impacts of tourism are proposed as the mediating variables between the exogenous latent variables and the ultimate dependent variable, given as support for tourism. Eight path hypotheses are proposed and tested using a sample of 363 residents. Perceptions of tourism impacts were found to influence support for tourism development. Findings also suggest that residents' satisfaction with neighborhood conditions and community services are important determinants of perceived positive and negative impacts of tourism. Community commitment was found not to be an antecedent of attitudes to tourism. The practical implications of the study are discussed, together with its limitations and scope for future research.