Linking Culture and the Environment

K.L. Andereck and N.G. McGehee 247
(Davis et al., 1988; Lankford and Howard, 1994; Andereck et al., 2005). In like
manner, there is evidence that those who are more engaged with the industry
through high levels of contact with tourists are more positively inclined
towards tourism and express more positive attitudes than the uninvolved
(Brougham and Butler, 1981; Lankford and Howard, 1994; Andereck et al.,
2005). In general, the findings to date suggest residents who are more engaged
with tourism and tourists are more positively inclined towards tourism and
express more positive attitudes.
Sentiments about one’s community have been investigated as a predictor
of attitudes about tourism. Variables that have generally been labelled ‘community
attachment’ and most often measured as length of time living in a
community and/or having been born in a community have been investigated
in some studies with mixed results (Davis et al., 1988; McCool and
Martin, 1994; Deccio and Baloglu, 2002; Gursoy et al., 2002; McGehee and
Andereck, 2004). Some investigators have found evidence that attachment is
negatively related to tourism attitudes (Lankford and Howard, 1994), but
this relationship is not yet conclusive given that others have found the opposite
or no definitive relationship in their studies (Davis et al., 1988; Deccio and
Baloglu, 2002; Gursoy et al., 2002; McGehee and Andereck, 2004).
This has also been true of the relationship between demographic characteristics
and attitudes; generally, no consistent relationships have emerged in
the analysis of the connection between traditional demographic variables
and tourism attitudes (Johnson et al., 1994; Perdue et al., 1995; Sirakaya et al.,
2002; Tosun, 2002; McGehee and Andereck, 2004; Andereck et al., 2005; Haley
et al., 2005). The only consistent demographic predictor of tourism attitudes
is employment in the tourism industry with residents who are employed in,
or otherwise dependent on, tourism having a more positive perception of
tourism’s economic impact than other residents (Brunt and Courtney, 1999;
Sirakaya et al., 2002; Haley et al., 2005). This has also been a measure of using
business ownership, with owners being more positive towards tourism than
other groups (Lankford, 1994; Siegel and Jakus, 1995).
Differences in attitudes have also been examined according to degree of
tourism development in the resident’s community (Long et al., 1990; McGehee
and Andereck, 2004) and maturity of destination (Sheldon and Abenoja,
2001). A relationship that has been explored by several researchers is the
association between a community’s economic activity and residents’ attitudes
towards tourism (Long et al., 1990; Allen et al., 1993; McGehee and
Andereck, 2004). Long et al. (1990) suggest that residents in communities that
are more dependent on tourism perceive higher levels of impacts and are
more supportive of user fees and taxes than those who are less dependent.
They also found that there appears to be a threshold of tourism development
activity beyond which attitudes became less positive. Initially, residents’ feelings
about tourism become more positive as the level of tourism deve lopment
increases, but over time the positive feelings seem to crest, after which time
attitudes begin to be less positive. Allen et al. (1993) examined this relationship
and report that residents in communities with low tourism and low economic
activity, and those in communities with high tourism and high economic