Stakeholders’ Attitudes towards Sustainable Tourism Development in

Coastal Communities

Whitney Knollenberg Thesis Committee

Dr. Joseph Fridgen, Associate Director for Academic Programs, Center for Sustainable Tourism (Committee Chair)

Dr. Huili Hao, Research Director, Center for Sustainable TourismDr. Tom Crawford, Associate Professor, Geography

Overview• What is sustainable tourism development?• Why do we care what residents think?• Description of theory• Study location• Purpose• Method• Analysis• Results• Conclusions• Applications• Future Research

Sustainable Tourism Development

“…achieving sustainable forms of tourism is the responsibility of all stakeholders involved, including government at all levels, international organizations, the private sector, environmental groups and citizens both in tourism destination countries and countries of origin.”

– The Berlin Declaration On Biological Diversity and Sustainable

Tourism, 1997

Sustainable Tourism Development

Actions that contribute to a balanced and healthy economy by generating tourism-related jobs, revenues, and taxes while protecting and enhancing the destination's socio-cultural, historical, natural and built resources for the enjoyment and well-being of both residents and visitors.

– Center for Sustainable Tourism

Importance of Residents’ Attitudes

• Many studies have been conducted examining resident’s attitudes towards tourism

• “…without community support, it is difficult to develop a sustainable tourism industry in a community.” - Andereck and Vogt, 2000 (p. 27)

• New research is focusing on resident’s attitudes towards sustainable tourism development (Choi and Sirakaya, 2005 and 2006 )

Stakeholder Theory

• Stakeholder Theory– A stakeholder is, “any group or individual who can affect or

is affected by the achievement of the organization’s objectives.”- Freeman, 1984 (p. 46)

• Translating Stakeholder Theory to tourism– “Freeman’s concepts requires the tourism planner(s) to

have a full appreciation of all the persons or groups who have interests in the planning, process(es), delivery and/or outcomes of the tourism service.”

- Sautter and Leisen, 1999 (p. 315)

• Not all members of a stakeholder group may feel the same way

Location

• The fragile nature of coastal environments requires local decision-makers to consider how their actions may impact the resources that attract tourists, such as the ocean and beaches

• Coastal communities have large numbers of second homes, which introduces a new group impacted by tourism

Study Areas

• Three coastal counties– Brunswick, Currituck, Pender Counties,

NC

Counties selected due to:High percentage of 2nd HomesDifferent tiers of economic developmentProximity to fragile coastal resources

Purpose

This study aims to further enable resident involvement in tourism planning by identifying groups of property owners based upon their attitudes towards sustainable development.

• Research Question 1: Among coastal community property owners, are there different stakeholder groups based on their perceptions of sustainable actions in tourism development?

• Research Question 2: How do these stakeholder groups compare in terms of sociodemographic characteristics?

Methods• Questionnaire development – pilot tests,

focus groups, literature review

• Population – Property tax payers (both permanent residents and second homeowners)

• Sample –Total of 14,587 members were randomly selected from property tax records

• Questionnaire available online, over the phone, or on paper

Subsample Selection

• Prior to the completion of data collection a subsample was chosen for this study

• Online surveys only

• Random selection of 300 cases

Analysis• Similar to the analysis used by Williams and Lawson

(2001) and Sirakaya-Turk, Ingram and Harrill (2009) exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis will be used to analyze the data.

• Exploratory factor analysis – Used to identify the underlying dimensions of variables

designed to measure respondent’s perceptions on the importance of sustainable actions in tourism development

• TwoStep Cluster analysis – Determines groups of respondents based upon the

dimensions of responses to the variables resulting from factor analysis

• Descriptive analysis– Used to create profile of each group based upon their

sociodemographic characteristics

• Measured on a scale of 1 (Not at All Important) – 5 (Very Important)

• These actions were adapted from Sustainable Travel International's 12 categories of sustainability

• These actions were identified through a literature review

Sustainable Actions

• Reducing and managing greenhouse gas emissions

• Managing, reducing and recycling solid waste

• Reducing consumption of freshwater

• Managing wastewater• Being energy efficient• Conserving the natural

environment• Protecting air quality

• Protecting water quality• Reducing noise• Preserving culture and heritage • Providing economic benefits from

tourism to locals• Purchasing from companies with

certified green practices• Training and educating

employees and clients on sustainability practices

• Protecting our community’s natural environment for future generations

• Full access for everyone in the community to participation in tourism development decisions

Results – Factor Analysis

• Fifteen variables used to measure property owners’ attitudes towards sustainable actions in tourism development

• Cronbach’s alpha = .935• Principal component analysis (PCA)

extraction used

Variable Factor 1

Reducing and managing greenhouse gas emissions .751

Managing, reducing and recycling solid waste .812Reducing freshwater consumption .761Managing wastewater .702Being energy efficient .873Conserving the natural environment .819Protecting our community's natural environment for future

generations .810

Protecting air quality .795Protecting water quality .765Reducing noise .613Preserving culture and heritage .579Providing economic benefits from tourism to locals .489Purchasing from companies with certified green practices .782Training and educating employees and clients on

sustainability practices .802

Full access for everyone in the community to participation in tourism development decisions .565

Eigen Value = 8.13Variance Explained = 54.16%

Results – Cluster Analysis

• The 15 variables were used to create a mean factor score

• This score was used in TwoStep cluster analysis to determine the groups of property owners

• Three groups were discovered and an ANOVA test confirmed their mean factor scores were significantly differentCluste

rName n % of

SampleAverage Mean Factor Score

1 Skeptics 35 11.7% 2.85

2 Supporters 159 53.0% 3.95

3 Advocates 106 35.3% 4.71

Sustainable Action in Tourism Development 

Skeptics Supporters

Advocates

Being energy efficient

Conserving the natural environment

Full access for everyone in the community to participate in tourism development decisionsManaging wastewater

Managing, reducing and recycling solid wastePreserving culture and heritage

Protecting air quality

Protecting natural environment for future generationsProtecting water quality

Providing economic benefits from tourism to localsPurchasing from companies with green practicesReducing and managing greenhouse gas

Reducing freshwater consumption

Reducing noise

Training and educating employees on sustainability practices

X

XX

XXXX

X

X

X

X

X

XX

X

X

X

X

X X

X

Results – Sociodemographic Profiles

Skeptics Supporters Advocates

Property Owner PR 2HO

60.0%40.0%

48.4%51.6%

50.0%50.0%

Length of Residency PR 2HO

17.14 years16.27 years

14.97 years13.30 years

13.83 years11.94 years

Gender * Male Female

74.3%25.7%

56.6%43.3%

38.7%61.3%

Education 4 – Year College 40.0%

4 – Year College 32.1%

Post Graduate 40.6%

Employment in Tourism

14.3% 8.8% 6.6%

Income <$50,000 (31.4%)

$100,000 - $199,999 (35.8%)

$50,000 - $99,999 (38.7%)

* Significant at .05

Additional Characteristics

• Attitudes towards current levels of tourism development– Advocates had the most members

(15.1%) who felt tourism had reached a point where they wished they purchase property elsewhere

• Satisfaction with quality of life– Moderate satisfaction with healthcare,

housing, recreational opportunities and water quality

Conclusions• Research Question 1: Among coastal community property owners, are there different stakeholder groups based on their perceptions of sustainable actions in tourism development?

– Within the population of property owners there are three attitude-specific stakeholder groups: Skeptics, Supporters and Advocates

– Differing attitudes on what actions are important

Environment

ActivistGroups

PublicLand

Managers

CompetingDestinations

CoastalZone

Mangers

BusinessGroups

EmployeesHistorians/

PreservationGroups

LocalBusinesses

TouristsTourismPlanners

LocalPolicy

Makers Developers

Skeptics Supporters

Advocates

PropertyOwners

Adapted from Sautter, E. T. and Leisen, B. (1999). Managing stakeholders: A tourism planning model. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 312 – 328.

Conclusions

• Research Question 2: How do these stakeholder groups compare in terms of sociodemographic characteristics?– There are few sociodemographic

features which distinguish the members of each group

– Adds to the challenge of identifying all stakeholder groups

Applications• A change in tourism development

would require input from property owners

• Planners should be aware there is potential for conflict among property owners

• These findings support the need for further public involvement in the tourism planning process

Future Research

• Apply data collection methods to larger population

• Further exploration of relationship between support for general tourism development and attitudes towards sustainable actions

• Explore other predictors of attitudes towards sustainable actions

ReferencesAndereck, K.L. and Vogt, C.A. (2000). The relationship between residents’ attitudes toward tourism and tourism development options. Journal of Travel Research, 39, 27 – 36. Berlin Declaration (1997). The Berlin declaration on biological diversity and sustainable tourism. International Conference of Environment Ministers on Biodiversity and Tourism. March 6–8. Berlin, Germany: United Nations. Center for Sustainable Tourism (n.d.) What is Sustainable Tourism? Retrieved from www.sustainabletourism.org Choi, H.C. and Sirakaya, E. (2005). Measuring residents’ attitude toward sustainable tourism: Development of sustainable tourism attitude scale. Journal of Travel Research, 43 (3), 380 – 394Choi, H.C. and Sirakaya, E. (2006). Sustainability indicators for managing community tourism. Tourism Management, 27, 1274 – 1289Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston, MA: Pitman.Sautter, E. T. and Leisen, B. (1999). Managing stakeholders: A tourism planning model. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 312 – 328Sirakaya-Turk, E., Ingram, L, and Harrill, R. (2009). Resident typologies within the integrative paradigm of sustaincentric tourism development. Tourism Analysis, 13, 531 – 544Williams, J. and Lawson, R. (2001). Comuity Issues and Residents Opinions of Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(2), 269 - 290

Questions?