Revisiting the relationship between host attitudes and tourism development: A utility maximization approach

Host attitudes toward tourists are critical to the sustainable development of the tourism industry. Although numerous studies have focused on investigating host attitudes toward tourists and tourism development, the theoretical support from an economic perspective in this field is still underdeveloped. By following the social exchange theory and applying a utility maximization model, the current study not only explains Doxey’s Irridex model from an economic perspective but also complements the findings of the tourism area life cycle model proposed by Butler. Results show that the public resources at the destination, along with the ability of local community in channeling (foreign) tourism income into productivity advancement, influence the optimal level of tourism development in a destination

Overtourism

In the past two decades, significant public investments in cultural infrastructure and events encouraged the private sector to consider new investment opportunities in Valletta, particularly in short-term rental accommodation, catering establishments and boutique hotels. In recent years, there was a sharp increase in boutique hotels, tourism rentals and catering establishments. Increased tourism activity reduced liveability for Valletta residents. The research finds that there are the initial signs of overtourism and that this is a source of concern, mainly to Valletta residents and to persons with an interest in urban heritage. If no action is taken to mitigate, it is likely that some of the negative impacts will become severe and unacceptable.peer-reviewe

Social Sustainability on Competitiveness in the Tourism Industry: Toward New Approach?

The achievements made over the years of policies seeking to stimulate tourism demand have led to a great increase in the number of tourists arriving in many destinations. Some destinations have begun to suffer problems derived from the success of policies focused solely on increasing the number of arrivals. The objective of this work is to analyze the role of social sustainability in the analysis of tourism competitiveness. Methodologically, this study has been developed from the analysis of papers published in journals indexed in the Journal Citations Reports and Scopus. This has been complemented with information extracted from a number of well-known studies regarding tourism competitiveness. In such a context, this chapter reflects on the need to consider the social sustainability linked to the development of tourism and the locals’ support as factors included within the concept of competitiveness

The Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) and Its Effect on the Quality-of-Life (QOL) of Destination Community

This chapter examines the connection between tourism area life cycle (TALC) and its effects on the quality-of-life (QOL) of destination communities. We posit that as destinations go through structural changes over time, the extent to which the dynamics of change affect the QOL of the resident community varies with the stages of the life cycle. The chapter consists of four major sections. After a brief introduction, the first section presents the concept of TALC and describes the development phases and the indicators that help understand tourism area development. The second section provides a brief discussion on the impact of tourism on the community in relation to TALC, which is then followed by the third section which focuses on the adjustment to change and maintaining the QOL of the community. Section four reviews related literature to support the relation between TALC and QOL of communities. The chapter ends with delineating critical issues for future research, outlining some of the difficulties moving forward, and formulating relevant policy implications that may help the researchers and destination management organizations to further examine the issues that may surround TALC and QOL connections