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94 community attitude
attitudes should be constantly monitored and
problems promptly rectified.
community attitude
GLENN F. ROSS, AUSTRALIA
Tourism development can evoke a variety of
both positive and negative perceptions among host
community members. Tourism-related social
changes may lead to rapid and widespread
development, representing advances in the community,
higher standards of living, and an overall
sociocultural enrichment which leads to perceptions
of wellbeing. Changes may also result in
dependency �see dependency theory), involving
economic growth which leaves an underdeveloped
structure and enhances existing social
inequities. In this context, relatively few members
of the host community may gain substantially from
the growth and development; however, the majority
of the residents may not participate in or benefit
economically or socially in any meaningful way
from the developments. This situation can lead to
feelings of resentment, bitterness and expressions of
hostility toward fellow residents and visitors.
Many governments and large corporations focus
principally upon positive economic benefits. But
there is now increasing recognition of the potential
social and environmental costs associated with
tourism development and the necessity for a careful
investigation of non-economic effects. In such
situations, commentators have called for careful
planning aimed at minimising tourism's negative
impacts and maximising benefits for the host. It is
generally acknowledged that for the industry to
survive, residents must be favourably disposed to
tourists and must perceive that they exercise some
influence over the planning process. Moreover, it is
suggested that their attitudes toward tourism
impacts on community life should be constantly
monitored, and problems promptly rectified.
How any community responds to the opportunities
and difficulties posed by a growth in the
tourism depends on a variety of factors, not the
least of which is its fundamental attitudes to the
industry. A major influencing factor and reactions
to this business is has the level of contact between
tourists and locals, which is not uniform, but
spatially selective. Residents living in close proximity
to the major tourism activity location are
more likely to be most aware of the industry and
experience the full impact of its disruption in
their daily lives. In contrast, those who live out in
the suburbs or further from the hub of the industry
are less likely to be aware of tourism and are likely
to come in contact with tourists and the infrastructure
less frequently.
Specific identifiable resident types have been
found to develop much more positive attitudes to
tourism than others. Host community members
with a commercial interest in tourism are more
likely to be favourably disposed to the industry than
other residents. Individuals owning or operating
businesses, together with those who work in those
operations, are more likely to have prominent and
positive attitudes to tourism, and vice versa. One of
the reasons many residents generally place a lower
value on tourism, when compared with other
groups such as business operators and local
administrators, is said to involve a lack of
awareness of the extent of the economic advantage
of the industry which may flow on to their
community. Some commentators suggest that the
general public is often largely ill-informed regarding
its contribution both to the local and the
national economies. Moreover, this is said to
demonstrate a general weakness in the industry's
public relations, when it fails to explain its role
in maintaining and increasing the standard of
living for the people of the local community, whose
cooperation and goodwill are seen as essential.
This wide range of community attitudes toward
the industry and tourists has led to the construction
of several host±guest models within the social
sciences, which attempt to incorporate both the
positive and negative reactions. For any tourism
site or region there may be a saturation level, and
if that level is exceeded the resulting costs begin to
be seen to outweigh the benefits. The Irridex
model �as proposed by Doxey 1975) seeks to
identify and explain the cumulative effects of this
development over time on social relationships, and
postulates a direct link between increased community
irritation, or stress, and continual growth. This
model suggests that in its early stages tourists are
likely to be regarded with enthusiasm by local