“Residents’ attitudes toward tourism development in the Azores, Portugal: effects of tourist-to-resident interaction”

 

Abstract

This research seeks to investigate the factors influencing residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism, focusing on the interaction between destination’s residents and tourists. A survey applied to residents of the Azores archipelago (Portugal) in 2018 received 451 answers. The findings follow the assumptions of the Social Exchange Theory, namely, respondents that used to keep closer contact with tourists and/or directly benefited from the tourism industry tended to express stronger support for the industry’s development. Regional and national authorities must be aware of these results when designing their policies, namely in the pursuit of a sustainable development strategy for the Azores.

Keywords: Residents’ perceptions; social exchange theory; positive and negative perceptions towards tourism; personal economic benefits; Azores Islands (Portugal).

José Cadima Ribeiro

Laurentina Vareiro

Isabel Cristina Monjardino

[“Residents’ attitudes toward tourism development in the Azores, Portugal: effects of tourist-to-resident interaction”, in Handbook on Tourism Planning, Philip Feifan Xie (Ed.), Edward Elgar Publisher, Northampton, Massachussetts, 2023, cap. 13, pp. 225-241; https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803923598.00019]