Social representations of surf tourism's impacts in Mexico

Abstract

Surf tourism has become increasingly interesting to researchers, but little is known about its impacts. Despite various important surf spots in Latin America, few studies have focused on how surf tourism's effects are perceived by local residents. Based on social representations theory, this research sought to analyse the types of social representations found among local residents related to surf tourism and its impacts on a destination in Mexico. In-depth interviews revealed that economic benefits, demonstration effects, localism and environmental awareness are residents' main representations. This study's primary contribution is an analysis of hegemonic, emancipated and polemic representations. The results also have implications for surf tourism management in the destination.