| Previous research has demonstrated that support of residents is essential for successful sustainable tourism development. To achieve community support for the tourism industry, tourism developers need to understand how residents formulate their perceptions of tourism impacts. Most research on residents' perceptions and attitudes has been conducted in one or a few communities, and a small number of studies have examined "a wide range of communities located within close proximity of each other in aggregate" (McGehee & Andereck, 2004). Building on the model by Perdue, Long, and Allen (1990), this study attempted to examine residents' perceptions of tourism impacts in several Midwest communities at different stages of tourism and economic development. A theoretical framework consisting of social exchange theory (Skidmore, 1975) and Butler's (1980) destination life cycle model was used to guide the study. Residents' attitudes toward tourism were tested with thirteen hypotheses. Independent variables included tourism knowledge, perceived power, community attachment, economic role of tourism, personal benefits from tourism, and residents' characteristics. The dependent variables included positive and negative impacts of tourism, support for future tourism development, support for restrictions on tourism development, and residents' outlook on the future of their community which was the ultimate dependent variable.;Data were collected using a mail questionnaire across three geographical regions at different stages of tourism and economic development. A total of 3,008 households constituted the population and twenty-eight percent (28%) of the surveys were returned. After the mail data collection was completed, a non-response survey was sent out to assess any bias in the dataset. The results obtained from the non-respondents were found to be relatively the same as from the main study results. The questionnaire was developed based on a literature review and input obtained from several county officials and tourism professionals as well as three tourism researchers from different universities.;Residents' attitudes toward tourism were tested utilizing a series of multiple regression analyses and one-way ANOVA. Results of the study further validated the model by Perdue at al. (1990). In addition, residents who perceived tourism as an important economic development strategy were more supportive of tourism development. Support for social exchange theory was mixed because personal benefits from tourism failed to predict support for restrictions on future tourism development. The results do not support previous studies which suggest that attitudes toward tourism become more negative with higher levels of tourism. Implications for tourism planners and developers included the need to educate residents about both costs and benefits associated with tourism development. The more tourism industry officials can demonstrate how individuals benefit from tourism in the area, the more support the industry is likely to enjoy from local residents. Future studies should improve measurements of the economic role of tourism, restrictions on future tourism development and community future. |
