Effects of place attachment on participation intentions for local tourism development

Abstract

Researchers in tourism development have often suggested that the participation of local residents is essential for sustainable tourism, and for identifying and understanding the factors affecting residents' willingness to participate ("participation intention") is instrumental in tourism development. "Place attachment" refers to the emotions and feelings people have for places or landscapes. When residents develop deeper bonds to their nearby settings, they are more willing to be involved in the development of the area. This study aims to examine residents' attachment to nearby landscapes and investigate the effects of attachment on residents' participate intention in local tourism. From the findings, three categories of attachment to different landscape attributes were extracted: cultural and historical landscapes, everyday landscapes, and natural landscapes. Moreover, regression analysis showed that attachment to cultural and historical landscapes can serve as a predictor of participation intention in tourism development. Under these circumstances, tourism authorities should give greater priority to enhancing residents' attachment to cultural and historical landscapes, which would, in turn, increase their participation intention, thus fostering sustainable tourism.

Assessing Residents’ Place Attachment to the Guatemalan Maya Landscape Through Mixed Methods Photo Elicitation

“…Photo Elicitation and Interviews. Through the mixed methods photo elicitation method, participants first ranked and described landscape photographs to assess their attachment to Guatemala's diverse working lands (Walker & Ryan, 2008;Zhang & Lei, 2010). Based on corresponding literature on landscapes endemic to historical and present-day rural Guatemala (e.g., Loucky, 2001;McCreery, 2003), the primary author performed an online search of Google images to strategically select 10 photographs most appropriate for the study.…”

“…Photo elicitation was chosen as an appropriate method to draw information where differences in literacy level, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, language, or age could all potentially cause barriers between the researcher and participant. While photo elicitation has been used to assess place attachment (e.g., Stedman et al, 2004; Walker & Ryan, 2008; Zhang & Lei, 2010), mixed methods photo elicitation is unique in that, in addition to ranking 10 landscape photographs endemic to rural Guatemala in order of importance or personal significance, we then used the photographs to prompt in-depth discussions (i.e., photo interviews) about which landscape features participants found most meaningful. We used both quantitative analysis (i.e., descriptive statistics and multidimensional scaling [MDS]) and qualitative analysis (i.e., thematic coding) to interpret the data.…”

“…Qualitative approaches such as in-person interviews, participant observation, or storytelling have also provided more in-depth insight into place-based meanings (Cheshire et al, 2013; Davenport & Anderson, 2005; de la Barre, 2013; Huff, 2006). Furthermore, some studies have used photographs to employ quantitative or qualitative approaches to assessing place attachment (e.g., Cheng & Kuo, 2015; Stedman et al, 2004; Walker & Ryan, 2008; Zhang & Lei, 2010). For example, photo-preference surveys have been used to examine the level of attachment that local residents have to different landscapes (Lokocz et al, 2011; Walker & Ryan, 2008; Zhang & Lei, 2010).…”

“…Furthermore, some studies have used photographs to employ quantitative or qualitative approaches to assessing place attachment (e.g., Cheng & Kuo, 2015; Stedman et al, 2004; Walker & Ryan, 2008; Zhang & Lei, 2010). For example, photo-preference surveys have been used to examine the level of attachment that local residents have to different landscapes (Lokocz et al, 2011; Walker & Ryan, 2008; Zhang & Lei, 2010). In these studies, photographs were preselected and included in surveys and respondents rated each photograph based on Likert-type scales designed to measure levels of attachment to each photograph.…”

Sense of Place Masyarakat untuk Keberlanjutan Aktivitas Sosial-Budaya di Kampung Jawi sebagai Destinasi Wisata

“…Seseorang yang merasa terikat pada suatu tempat akan memiliki keinginan untuk melindungi dan menjaga keberlanjutan komponen-komponen yang ada pada tempat tersebut (Eren, 2013). Penelitian tentang place attachment dan keterlibatan masyarakat dalam pengembangan wisata sebelumnya pernah dilakukan oleh Zhang & Lei (2010). Zhang & Lei (2010) mengkaji bagaimana keterkaitan antara place attachment dan minat keterlibatan penduduk lokal dalam pembangunan wisata.…”