Influence of Place Identity on Residents’ Attitudes to Dark Tourism

Abstract

ABSTRACTUnderpinning the importance of place identity, this study investigates its role on residents’ attitude to dark tourism. Deploying a survey of post-disaster residents in a town in Southwest China, the current study indicates that place-based self-esteem and self-efficacy are salient in influencing residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts and support for dark tourism. Further, place identity’s other two principles—distinctiveness and continuity—are found to be important antecedent variables with indirect effects mediated by self-esteem. While the literature on dark tourism suggested that economic benefit is a common reason for residents’ support for tourism, this study recommends a new perspective to better understand and predict residents’ attitudes toward dark tourism.