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Resident Perceptions Of Tourism

Resident Perceptions of Tourism in a Rapidly Growing Mountain Tourism Destination

by Justin Curto

A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Applied Environmental Studies in Local Economic Development – Tourism Policy and Planning

ABSTRACT
It is generally agreed that tourism results in both positive and negative impacts for residents of tourism destinations. There is a need to study resident perceptions of tourism because local residents are the ones who are most directly affected by tourism (Haywood, 2000; Simmons, 1994; Snaith and Haley, 1999). The study of resident perceptions is also valuable in that it can illuminate the views of those whose views are not otherwise heard. Several dozen studies have examined residents’ perceptions of tourism and the vast majority of these studies have been rooted in positivism and apply quantitative methods. Recently a growing body of research has emerged which examine residents’ perceptions of tourism from a qualitative research approach. The intent of this study is to determine residents’ perceptions of tourism in a rapidly growing mountain tourism destination. The Collingwood region of Ontario was used as the case study for this research. Specifically, this study examines residents’ views on the current rate of growth, the costs and benefits of tourism, tourism as an economic development strategy, and the theoretical frameworks which might help to explain tourism in the Collingwood region. This study is based on three research approaches which include qualitative inquiry, grounded theory, and explanatory case study research. Triangulation of data sources was used to examine the case from multiple perspectives and include a qualitative content analysis of the local newspaper, semi-structured interviews with residents and semi-structured key informant interviews. This data was analyzed using the constant comparative method. The analysis...