Abstract
How we scientifically measure residents’ perception of tourism developments and earn their understanding and support have an important impact on the scientific management and sustainable utilization of tourist attractions. This study analyzes the mediating role of perceived justice and community identity between residents’ perceptions of tourism’s impact and their support for tourism development by integrating the theories of social exchange theory (SET) and ‘cognition–affection–conation’ (CAC) relationship theory. We surveyed 334 interviewees in the Xinghua Duotian Agrosystem (XHDA), a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site in Jiangsu Province, China. The findings of our study are as follows: (1) Residents’ perceptions had both a direct and indirect influence over behavioral intentions. Specifically, benefit perception of tourism had a significant positive influence, while cost perception had a significant negative influence on residents’ support for tourism development. (2) Perceived justice and community identity played an intermediary role in the relationship between tourism impact perception and support for tourism development. (3) The mediating role of emotions had strong effects on their behavioral intentions via its psychological transmission chain of perceptions. The results suggest that community-based tourism (CBT) may be an effective tool for local residents to diversify their livelihoods in the GIAHS site, and the mediating role of perceived justice and community identity should be taken seriously for the development of CBT in GIAHS sites.
Highlights
Tourism is widely considered an effective contributor to poverty reduction and economic development for some traditional communities around the world [1]
The results suggest that community-based tourism (CBT) may be an effective tool for local residents to diversify their livelihoods in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site, and the mediating role of perceived justice and community identity should be taken seriously for the development of CBT in GIAHS sites
Responding to criticism of tourism development as lacking awareness of cultural understanding, social justice, and ecological degradation, community-based tourism (CBT) has been introduced and widely identified for its ability to promote the harmonious relationships between visitors and the local community on the premise that tourism should address the fundamental needs and concerns of the local community [3]
Summary
Tourism is widely considered an effective contributor to poverty reduction and economic development for some traditional communities around the world [1]. Some researchers attributed the conflicting discoveries to the lack of mediating variables in the SET-based framework, in which residents’ cognition, i.e., their positive and negative attitudes towards tourism’s impacts, directly led to their behavior, i.e., residents’ support for tourism development or not. Thereafter, many factors, such as the personal benefits, the level of trust, and the distribution of power between stakeholders were found to play important roles in explaining local residents’ support for tourism development [10,13,14]. CAC theory can make up for the lack of consideration of mediating factors in SET to explore the relationship between the local community and tourism development
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