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1979 Impact of Domestic Tourism On Host Population. Tourism Recreation Research, 4 (2), 15-21.
1979 Impact of Domestic Tourism On Host Population. Tourism Recreation Research, 4 (2), 15-21.
1979 Impact of Domestic Tourism On Host Population. Tourism Recreation Research, 4 (2), 15-21.
Ted A. Williams
To cite this article: Ted A. Williams (1979) Impact of Domestic Tourism on Host Population,
Tourism Recreation Research, 4:2, 15-21, DOI: 10.1080/02508281.1979.11014981
Article views: 1
Download by: [University of California, San Diego] Date: 01 January 2016, At: 06:12
Impact of Domestic Tourism on Host Population:
The Evolution of a Model
The negative impacts of tourism develop- tural characteristics of the tourists and hosts. The
ment have begun to surface in academics only implications for comparison are evident. Domes-
within the past two decades. The predominance tic impacts " are not as obviously detected as
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 06:12 01 January 2016
of this literature is based on studies conducted in impacts on international cultures, albeit as harm-
less developed countries and island nations ful.
where cultural transformation has occurred as a Differentiation between international and
result of tourist influx from western nations domestic tourism is also evident in the economic
(Forster, 1964; Aerni, 1972; McKean, 1973; Lund- stability of the destination. Forster (1964) states
berg, 1974, Esh and Rosenblum, 1975). The that "economies which are not well-rounded in
conspicuity of the problem has made these the sense that there is unequal developmen; of
areas principal targets for research. Very recent- various sectors, (prevalent in island nations and
ly, studies have appeared which focus upon a less developed countries), are more likely to
more specific scope of tourism impact research- develop a tourist industry and more liable to be
domestic tourism. economically and socially disrupted by it". What
This specific area of interest has captured then comprises domestic impacts?
the attention of serious scientific research con- The scope of this paper prohibits a~'l in-
cerning the negative effects of a concentration of clusive list of possible negative impacts, however
dome!!tic tourists on permanent residents of host a partial list includes: (a) economic (e.g., land
communities. A number of investigations have price inflation, seasonal variations, dependence
been addressed to this problem and it is the aim on a single industry), (b) environmental and phy-
of this paper to review this literature and sical (e.g., overcrowding, congestion, noise and
provide discussion and recommendations for fur- water pollution) and, (c) social (e.g., increases in
ther research. Structurally, a model has evolved crime, changes in mode of living, feelings of in-
explaining the interrelating factors and variables feriority) (Pizam, 1977). These impacts have
that form the bases for impact-oriented research. been hypothesized by researchers to cause resent-
Initially, a clarification of terms is instructive. ment of tourists and tourism by residents in
Domestic tourism broadly refers to in- host communities (Doxey, 1975; Lengyel, 1975;
country travel, where culturally similar tourists Fizam, 1977; Thomason, Crompton, and Kamp,
gather for reasons of business or pleasure, out of 1978). A review of the pertinent literature is
their home community. l'or a duration of at least provided to investigate this hypothesis.
24 hours. Typically international tourism is com- LITERATURE REVIEW
posed of visitors who originate from different Emphasis has been placed specifically on
cultures and ethnic backgrounds, have a dis- sociological studies of tourism impact on domes-
similar languages, and often contrasting habits of tic environments and populations. Related litera-
·dress. Cohen (1972) suggests the most important ture, addressing research impacts of international
variables of comparison between domestic an :I tourists and tourism has appeared in press (See
international tourism are the differences in cul- related Bibliography).
*Ted A. \Villiams is Resc-.rch t\.so<·iatc at th<' :\ri;wzn Stat<· Uni\·crsity (US;\\,
society, was undergoing a structural change due ceived by residents. Researchers interviewed
to tourism. Residents as well as entrepreneurs 1,636 residents and 212 entrepreneurs in order to
perceived the continued development of tourism find a correlation between heavy tourism con-
as "spoiling the charm of the island". The im- centration and perception of the tourism industry.
plications of this continued expansion, according Using an attitude index (a general measure of
to Doxey's findings, manifest the need for long- resident's attitude on an eleven point scale,-5
range planning. The case at Niagara-on-the-Lake through +5) he found that the overall mean in-
is much more accute. dex was a -.804, indicating a slightly negative
Even though visitors were primarily attitude. Additionally, the study indicated a size-
attracted from surrounding areas, residents of this able portion of the sample wanted to control,
small Canadian community perceived visitors as restrict or discontinue tourism on Cape Cod.
"strangers" who altered, adversely, the life pat- Specific impacts that affected residents most in-
tern of the town. The tremendous influx of cluded: traffic conditions, litter, noise, vandalism,
visitors during the summer festival season occurrences of alcoholism and inrlated prices of
resulted in overcrowding, traffic snarls, and gen- goods and services. On the positive side, res-
eral congestion. It appeared, a viable solution to idents felt that income, standard of living, and
this "saturation" :problem was simply to limit the opportunity for shopping were enhanced as a
entry of visitors into the city centre. result of tourism.
Another comparative study was initiated Pizam additionally conducted research on
by Packer (1974) in three disparate communities- the varying attitudes of residents and entrepre-
Mykonos, Greece; Bodrum, Turkey and Leaven- neurs towards tourism. His findings indicate a
worth, Washington USA. Packer determined positive correlation between economic depend-
that in both Leavenworth and Bodrum, tourism ency on tourists and resident attitudes. Those
provided an increase in community self-image, residents employed in tourism were more favour-
occupational diversity, and access. Mykonos ably disposed towards tourists than those not
residents, on the other hand, were experiencing employed in a tourism related business.
both positive and negative effects of tourism In a very similar research inquiry Rothman
development. Noted positive impacts include: (1978) undertook a comparative study of two
employment opportunities, educational opportu- Delaware communities. Again utilising survey
nities, modernization of facilities, and increased research, he compared responses of residents in
transportation access (via plane and boat). Nega- both communities and found a general satisfac-
tive impacts were found to be: loss of trust, tion with tourism. Positive consequences of
catering to tourists, infusion of socially denounced tourism were revealed as additional revenues,
activities, and a general breakdown in traditional seasonal jobs, expanded services and the opport-
familial values. Evaluation of impacts on these unity to see old friends. Negative consequ-
•"Irridex" i~ a measure ofirrit~tion to gauge irritation intemities (Doxey, 1975). Instrumental to understanding these irritations are four
levels of resident tolerance thrc~holds-euphoria, apathy, annoyance, and antagonism. As tourists' levels increase. the irridex increases.
purposes. Rothman's research further indicates Greenwood (1972) has theorised that tour-
that virtually every aspect of community life is ism development proceeds through three stages.
in some way affected by the annual influx of Stage !-discovery; tourism has been recently
vacationers. This implies the controlling forces indroduced and there are no appreciable effects
inherent in tourism development. on local economic growth. Tourists are wel-
A research survey of residents has also comed. Stage II; local response and initiative.
been recently conducted at Corpus Christi, Texas Tourists adapt to the host community to the
(Thomason, Crompton, and Kamp, 1978). This degree that the host community accepts the in-
report indicated a generally positive attitude to- novations necessitated by the tourists. Stage III;
wards tourism by residents of the community. institutionalization. The host community is
However, significant variations were revealed "taken over" by tourism. Local economic growth
between residents, entrepreneurs and public serv- is high but monies are controlled by outside in-
ice providers.* Public service providers general- vestors. Contacts between tourists and residents
ly felt visitors placed a strain on community serv- are "unpleasant and conflictful". Although many
ices. Since they are in close proximity to research studies have not utilised this typology,
visitors who utilise community services, they are it provides an essential temporal framework for
likely to be most sensitive to impacts upon these investigating impacted populations.
same services. Conversely, entrepreneurs were Types of Tourists
most favourable of tourists, reflecting the find- There are nearly as many typologies of
ings of both Pizam and Rothman. Residents' tourists as there are studies of tourism impact
feelings were generally mixed, falling in between (Nunez, 1973; Gray, 1970; Cohen, 1972; Nolan,
the two other sectors. 1975). A typology that is particularly germane
The studies included in this review lay the for domestic tourism is one developed by Smith
foundation for research impacts of domestic (1977). Smith categorises tourists into seven
touri!:m. However, much of the data is non-com-. heterogeneous groups. Included are; (a) explorer,
parable. Only two themes consistently pervade (b) elite, (c) off-beat, (d) unusual, (e) incipient
the literature. First, employment is positively mass, (f) mass, and (g) charter. As the groups
affected by tourism in terms of increased op- move from explorer to charter they become more
portunities and employee attitude. Second, visit- visible and expect more western amenities from
ors cause a general increase in congestion and the host culture. Since domestic tourism is gene-
strain on facilities. The value of this research is rally not culturally affected, correlations are
in ascertaining commonalities so that generalisa- made only by numbers of tourists. The vaca-
tions regarding tourism impacts can be for- tioners and winter visitors common to most
mulated. This can be in part accomplished by domestic tourism environments would be gene-
standardizing research components and demon- rally classified in the last four sub-groups.
•Included in public service providers are employees in the departments of fire, police, sanitation, parks and recreation, Y.M.C.A. tele"
phone, water, etc.
defined into three categories; economic, social, Analysis of these four components reveals
and environmental/physical. Generally, econo- a theoretically consistent pattern of interrelation-
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