Assessment of residents’ attitudes toward sustainable tourism development - A case study of Bačko Podunavlje Biosphere Reserve, Serbia

Abstract

Residents' attitudes to tourism activities are crucial for sustainable tourism development. The sustainable tourism attitude scale (SUS-TAS) is implemented as a basis for analyzing local residents' attitudes towards sustainable tourism development. The aim of this research is to explore the attitudes of the local community (n = 1233) towards sustainable tourism development in the Bačko Podunavlje Biosphere Reserve (BPBR), located in northwestern Serbia, and examine the effectiveness of the SUS-TAS. The principal component analysis with a Varimax rotation was implemented to determine the dimensions of the SUS-TAS. Seven factors have been extracted. Among the seven factors, community members showed agreement to six factors of sustainable tourism development. This study supports the hypothesis that the SUS- TAS is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring residents' attitudes toward sustainable tourism development, even in developing countries like Serbia. Finally, the study shows that locals have a positive attitude toward the development of sustainable tourism in the BPBR. The present study reveals the need of local residents to be advised when developing destination-marketing sustainable tourism strategies. For sustainable tourism development in biosphere reserves one of the key elements is the acceptance and tolerance of tourists by the local population. Therefore, the following measures are recommended: 1. The destination's management and tourist organizations should allow residents to access information and enable them to participate in decision-making. 2. Tourism policy-makers in Serbia should pay significant attention to the attitudes of local residents in creating marketing and management strategies for tourism development. 3. Tourism developers and managers need to help residents understand how tourism development may improve their quality of life by creating access to better amenities.