Examining the relationship between social capital and community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations

A thorough understanding of the influencing factors and mechanisms of community resilience in tourism destinations is vital not only for recovery after disasters but also for strengthening the adaptive capacity of community residents to manage sudden change. This study aims to investigate the roles of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital in enhancing community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. Based on data derived from a survey of 691 residents of China's Dujiangyan scenic areas and Jiuzhai Valley National Park, this study used structural equation modeling to test the relationship between community residents' perceived social capital and resilience in tourism destinations. The findings suggest that the three types of social capital have significantly positive effects on community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. In China's centralized political system, linking social capital is the most important type of social capital in community disaster recovery. An interaction effect between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital is found. This study's results help managers and community residents cultivate social capital, improve community resilience and maintain sustainable tourism development.     

旅游驱动乡村社会重构的特征与机制研究——以湖州顾渚村为例

乡村旅游是推动乡村重构的重要驱动力量,乡村社会重构是乡村重构研究的重要内容。本文以典型旅游村落湖州市顾渚村为案例地,从乡村居民视角出发,分析乡村社会重构的特征,并通过扎根理论方法构建了旅游驱动下乡村社会重构机制理论模型。结果表明：（1）乡村旅游发展改变了乡村居民的原有身份,乡村居民从农民、打工者转变为旅游经营者,实现了社会身份的重构。（2）乡村旅游发展带来了大量外来人员进入乡村,乡村社会关系格局逐渐从“差序格局”转变为“多元格局”,实现了社会关系的重构。（3）乡村旅游发展使乡村居民与乡村环境之间的关系发生改变,乡村从传统乡土社区转变为旅游服务社区,实现了社会空间的重构。（4）旅游要素的介入是旅游乡村社会重构最重要的驱动力量,乡村经济重构、乡村空间重构、资源环境驱动、旅游市场驱动、政策制度驱动、行为主体参与6个方面分别构成了乡村社会重构的空间载体、物质基础、支撑机制、引导机制、促进/约束机制和引擎机制,各作用机制之间相互影响、动态耦合共同推动了乡村社会的重构。     

Social capital and entrepreneurial mobility in early-stage tourism development: A case from rural China

Early-stage tourism destinations often seek external capital to establish, invest and participate in tourism businesses at various levels. Entrepreneurial mobility at these destinations is thus an important phenomenon in need of further exploration both empirically and theoretically. This study uses an early-stage destination in rural China as a case to explore the experiences of inward entrepreneurial migrants in tourism development and associates their mobility, geographical and organisational, with dimensions of social capital, including institutional support, community openness and personal social networks. Primary interview data were collected from inward tourism entrepreneurs, key local community members and government officials related to tourism projects. The findings suggest that the inward entrepreneurs had unrealistic perceptions of the tourism industry before they entered. Entrepreneurial mobility in tourism development is influenced by all three social capital dimensions. The integration with the locality enhances the potential contribution of entrepreneurial mobility to tourism development.     

Assessing the contribution of a major cycle race to host communities in South Australia

The development of major sport events in rural areas offers opportunities for local communities to engage in leisure, sport and tourism activity. While current studies investigate the impact of sport events on residents individually, little research has taken a community perspective. The purpose of this research was to explore the process of event development and the impact upon social interactions in seven rural communities in the 2012 Tour Down Under cycling race in Australia. Using grounded theory to explore community activities, interviews and focus groups with over 100 participants resulted in the development of a core category of collaboration; and five subcategories to examine the role of the event in stimulating community interaction and social capital. A model of sport event development explains the impact of the event development process on community relations in this rural context. Implications are discussed for managing the relationships between communities and event management organisations.     

Community-based tourism,social capital,and governance of post-conflict rural tourism destinations: the case of Minca,Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta,Colombia

Community-based tourism (CBT) in Colombia was identified as a strategy to reduce rural poverty and social inequalities in regions affected by political violence. The objectives of CBT are met through community and multilevel governance. Strong social capital is a necessary condition to meet such objectives. This article contributes to the theoretical and empirical analysis of the relationships among community-based tourism, social capital and governance in post-conflict contexts. Based on a set of indicators to measure social capital, and economic, sociocultural and environmental benefits perceived by the community, the case study in Minca, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia), demonstrates that tourism barely benefits communities when there is insufficient social capital and unstructured governance due to the low presence of the government. Despite the existence of legislation favorable to the empowerment of peripheral communities, rulers lack the political incentives to strengthen the social capital required for the development of community-based tourism.     

Empowerment and resident support for tourism in rural Central and Eastern Europe (CEE): the case of Pomerania,Poland

Despite empowerment being a crucial component of sustainable tourism, few scholars have quantitatively operationalized empowerment and looked at how it applies to rural societies within the post-communist European Union (EU) member states. Knowing the high priority of sustainable rural development goals within the EU, empowering residents within these post-communist societies has become a pertinent issue especially where those societies appear more reluctant to engaging in democratic ways of decision-making. In response to this gap, this study tests the cross-cultural validity of the Resident Empowerment through Tourism Scale, and then evaluates how empowerment predicts residents’ support for tourism within the municipality of Choczewo, Pomerania, Poland. Using a theoretical perspective that blends Social Exchange Theory with Weber's Theory of Formal and Substantive Rationality, these non-economic empowerment dimensions are coupled with a measure of resident perceptions of economically benefiting from tourism to see if rural residents in Choczewo, Poland, are more swayed by the economic or non-economic benefits of tourism. Results show that residents within this Central and Eastern Europe setting are more influenced by the pride and self-esteem boost associated with psychological empowerment and the perceptions of increased community cohesion (i.e. social empowerment) than the economic promises of tourism.     

乡村旅游开发土地收储阶段居民意愿特征与细分机制——基于扎根理论的研究

作为土地增值收益再分配过程的土地收储,不断导致乡村旅游开发中各利益主体间的矛盾与冲突。识别居民对土地收储意愿态度特征及其作用机制,不但有助于乡村旅游开发土地收储的顺利进行,更对维持乡村社会稳定具有重要意义。文章以河北W村为例,采用扎根理论对非参与式观察和深度访谈法获取的536条数据资料进行层级编码分析,探析乡村旅游开发土地收储阶段居民征地意愿及其特征。研究发现,居民在土地收储阶段的意愿会依据个体条件产生差异化价值需求,并根据需求的被满足程度形成积极响应、条件支持、矛盾屈从和顽强抵抗4种典型形态。通过扎根理论形成的"条件-需求-意愿"作用路径,可对意愿细分形成原因进行阐释,其本质是人地关系地域系统中地理环境影响人行为选择的一种具体表现。     

Incorporating emotion into social exchange: considering distinct resident groups’ attitudes towards ethnic neighborhood tourism in Osaka,Japan

While numerous studies have utilized SET to examine the residents’ attitudes towards tourism, relatively scant from the literature is a discussion regarding the influence of emotion generated through SET among residents on their attitudes towards tourism. In addition, past studies mainly explored the social exchange between visitors and locals, while neglecting the social exchange within a local community. The goal of this study is to examine the influence individuals’ emotions toward their ethnic counterparts within a community can have on residents’ (i.e., members of the dominant ethnic group—Japanese and members of the ethnic minority group—Koreans) attitudes toward ethnic neighborhood tourism within the Korean neighborhood of Ikuno, Osaka, Japan. Ikuno has the highest concentration of Korean residents in Japan, and the town has become a destination of cultural tourism centered on Korean culture. Analysis of 640 completed questionnaires revealed while attitudes of Korean residents, who are more likely to perceive economic benefits from tourism have more favorable attitudes towards tourism, Japanese residents form their particular attitudes towards tourism based on the emotional solidarity they experience with their Korean neighbors. These findings indicate both utility of economic approach of social exchange theory and significant role of emotion in social exchange.     

Gaming can be sustainable too! Using Social Representation Theory to examine the moderating effects of tourism diversification on residents' tax paying behavior

Tourism authorities in the Las Vegas region have suggested the diversification of the tourism industry as a strategy to improve the vitality of rural communities outside of the metropolitan area. The present study uses Social Representation Theory as the conceptual basis to test the moderating effects of the various types of proposed tourism development on residents' willingness to pay higher taxes to support such development. A survey of 301 residents in Las Vegas rural communities examined how the factors of economic dependence on tourism, community attachment, and ecocentric attitude towards tourism influence residents' perceptions of tourism's impacts. A higher economic dependence on tourism and higher levels of community attachment led to more favorable perceptions of tourism's economic and social impacts. The economic impacts, in turn, resulted in a willingness to pay higher taxes, irrespective of the type of tourism development proposed by the Las Vegas authorities. The results suggest that rural communities reinforce a hegemonic social representation of tourism in order to characterize the ethos of capitalist urbanism that pervades the economic development discourse. The residents' social construction of tourism has important implications for tourism planners in the region and suggests the adoption of an inclusive tourism diversification strategy that leverages both gaming and alternative tourism.     

Community attachment,tourism impacts,quality of life and residents’ support for sustainable tourism development

This study examined the formation of residents’ support for sustainable tourism development based on the social exchange theory and bottom-up spillover theory. A self-administered survey along with a structural analysis was used. Our result revealed that overall quality of life satisfaction influenced support for sustainable tourism development, and that material life domains and non-material life domains were two important determinants of overall QoL. Perceived sociocultural impacts of tourism had a significant relationship with non-material life domains. Perceived economic impacts of tourism influenced both material and non-material life domains. Community attachment and residents’ perceived impacts of tourism were significantly associated.     

共享视角下乡村旅游社区居民旅游支持度的复杂性——基于fsQCA方法的分析

发展乡村旅游是实现乡村振兴的重要路径,而社区居民的旅游支持是影响乡村旅游发展的关键因素之一。文章基于共享视角,采用fsQCA方法构建了形成社区居民高水平旅游支持度的复杂因果模型,综合纳入了社区居民人口学特征、社区旅游参与相关变量及旅游共享感知等不同类型影响因素,以揭示社区居民产生高水平旅游支持度的前因条件组合及其结构关系。该文以成都市青杠树村乡村旅游社区为例,基于问卷调查结果,对旅游社区居民的旅游支持度进行复杂性分析。研究结果支持了复杂性理论的主要准则,证实了社区居民高水平旅游支持度前因条件的异质性和复杂性,获得了能促使社区居民产生高水平旅游支持度的11种前因条件组合及其所形成的复杂因果模型。研究不仅能深化学界对各影响因素与社区居民旅游支持度之间所存在的非对称因果关系的认识,还能为预测和提升乡村旅游社区居民旅游支持度的管理实践提供依据。     

Urban vs. rural destinations: Residents’ perceptions,community participation and support for tourism development

This paper investigates and compares the effects of residents' perceptions of the impacts of tourism on community participation and support for tourism development across urban and rural world heritage sites (WHSs). Partial least squares – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), has been employed to perform the analysis. The results reveal significant differences between the effects of residents' perceptions and community participation on support for tourism development in urban and rural destinations. However, the findings did not support any differences between the effects of positive perceptions on community participation, and the indirect effects of negative perceptions on support for tourism development. This study makes a significant theoretical contribution to the urban and rural tourism and residents’ perceptions literature by comparing rural and urban WHSs residents. Furthermore, this study has a number of practical implications for the local authorities of rural and urban WHSs.     

Social impacts of tourism : Host perceptions

This study investigates the pergeptions of the residents of Nadi, Fiji, towards the impacts of tourism. A survey of 199 households revealed that residents (most of whom were dependent on the industry for their livelihood) supported the current magnitude of tourism and favored its expansion. Despite this very clear and generally positive view, the respondents identified specific negative and positive impacts that, in their view, affected the community. The results suggest that residents of communities dependent on tourism can clearly differentiate between its economic benefits and the social costs, and that awareness of certain negative consequences does not lead to opposition towards further tourism development.     

Social capital: An investment towards community resilience in the collaborative natural resources management of community-based tourism schemes

Community-based tourism projects appear to be the most favoured option for enhancing community livelihoods through the collaborative management of communal natural resources in land reformed areas in South Africa. A case study approach was adopted to establish the role of social capital in building community resilience through the management of common pool natural resources. Using the assemblages and systemic-resilience theories, this paper establishes which relationships between social capital and community resilience are best for pursuing successful community-based tourism schemes. Lessons were drawn from Somkhanda Community Game Reserve in the Gumbi community, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The paper identifies three main community resilience shocks: governance, financial and skills. It notes that strong social capital can promote the realisation of community resilience in communal natural resources management. It further points to the need for avoiding environmental romanticisation, as there is a need to focus on the complexities involved in managing communal natural resources in land reformed communities.     

Destination social capital and innovation in SMEs tourism firms: an empirical analysis in an adverse socio-economic context

Abstract

This study examines the structural relationships between internal and external resources that explain the innovation of small tourism firms in adverse socio-economic contexts. Specifically, it analyzes two internal resources, human and organizational-technological capital, and the valuable intangible resources derived from social interactions between the agents in the destination (other companies, institutions, and community). The research hypotheses are tested by means of structural equation analysis applied to an empirical study of 180 tourism firms located in Isla Margarita (Venezuela). The findings confirm the importance of external resources derived from relationships with destination agents in the innovation behavior of tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While business social capital affects innovative behavior directly, other types of internal intellectual capital mediate the relationship between innovative behavior and institutional and community social capital. It is the first to address the local community’s role in the innovation of tourism SMEs. The importance of integrating firm and destination resources should inform SMEs’ innovation policies in adverse contexts where the scarcity of resources make vulnerable the economic, social and environmental sustainability.     

Tourism and the (re)making of rural places: The cases of two Chinese villages

Tourism is a major force in rural place-making and is widely adopted to maintain and revitalize rurality in times of economic uncertainty. A mixed methods approach is used to examine and compare place-making experiences of two villages in central China from the perspective of social capital Interviews, observations and household surveys are used to identify the place-making processes, experiences, and outcomes. Rural tourism place-making in both villages follow proposal, negotiation, implementation and maintenance stages. A clear tourism orientation in place-making processes and involvement of external partners brought higher economic benefits for residents but a lower sense of ownership. The social capital of the two villages resulted in variations in place-making styles and processes, and influenced rurality outcomes. Practical suggestions for the planning and management of rural destinations are offered.     

Residents’ attitudes toward future tourism development in terms of community well-being and attachment

This study explores residents’ attitudes toward future tourism development based on their community well-being (CWB) and community attachment. Focusing on the case of Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan, South Korea, which was developed during an urban regeneration project in 2009, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. The main findings of this study are: (1) CWB is supported by five variables including income effects, social participation, safety service, infrastructure service, and environmental effect; (2) not only does CWB influence community attachment but attachment also effects residents’ attitudes; and (3) the most effective variable of CWB is income effect, and safety service for community attachment. These results can help to provide effective strategies to encourage residents to have positive attitudes about further tourism development in a community-based tourism destination.     

VOLUNTEER TOURISM: A HOST COMMUNITY CAPITAL PERSPECTIVE

This study examines the impact of volunteer tourism on host communities utilising a community capitals perspective. A research design that includes focus groups, interviews and website analysis targets a cluster of communities that have hosted NGO run volunteer tourism programs in the Philippines for over twenty years. Flora’s (2004) community capitals framework is applied to delineate a broad spectrum of impacts resulting from volunteer tourism. This framework accounts for political, built, natural, financial, human, cultural, and social (bridging and bonding) capitals. The data provides strong evidence that, in this case, volunteer tourists exert bridging social capital that in turn impacts every form of community capital. The study also reveals two additional forms of capital: welfare and personal.     

Applying diffusion theory to destination stakeholder understanding of sustainable tourism development: a case from Thailand

The concept of sustainable tourism development is widely considered to be necessary for successful tourism development, but there is uncertainty over destination stakeholders’ understanding and thus ability to implement the concept. Utilising diffusion theory, this paper explores the diffusion of the sustainable tourism development concept among stakeholders in the tourism destination of Kret Island, Thailand. The primary data collection involved semi-structured, in-depth interviews undertaken with 10 local government authorities and 45 local residents, and data were analysed using content analysis. Interpersonal communication was the key channel for the concept's diffusion, and the involvement of opinion leaders, change agents and social networks in this diffusion was explored. Many local residents were laggards in the diffusion of sustainable tourism development thinking in comparison with local government and local opinion leaders. It is argued that both interpersonal and media communication and the identification of key actors in the community are needed to effectively diffuse sustainable tourism ideas among destination stakeholders. The results validate the use of diffusion theory as a means to understand the transfer of the sustainable tourism development concept among stakeholders, and they also provide information useful for the design of information dissemination programmes.