Set-based Research On Rural Community Support Model For Tourism

Host attitudes, to some extent, indicate the development of tourism. Gaining and sustaining residents'support is an integral part of the sustainable tourism.This paper, based on Social Exchange Theory, tested a Community Support Model for Tourism at a rural community nearby Hangzhou, China.The proposed model contained seven variables and fourteen hypothesized relationships. The hypothesized relationships were tested using the SEM from responses collected from residents of Meijiawu. Results indicated that:1 Community support for tourism was influenced by perceived benefits, perceived costs and overall community satisfaction. And of all the three factors above, perceived benefit was found influence community support for tourism most significantly.2 Perceived benefits were affected by power to influence tourism, trust in tourism institutions and overall community satisfaction. Neighborhood conditons did not exert a significant influence on perceived benefits.3 Overall community satisfaction was influenced by trust in tourism institutions and neighborhood conditons. Power to influence tourism did not exert a significant influence on overall community satisfaction.4 Perceived costs were affected by neighborhood conditions. Power to influence tourism, trust in tourism institutions or overall community satisfaction was not found to affect perceived costs.The most contribution worth mentioned in this paper is the introduction of two of Power and Trust, which are core concepts in Social Exchange Theory, in the community support model for tourism. Research conclusions were made with comparasion to the previous researches in this field. Policy implications of this paper were given with reference to the research case.