ABSTRACT
Interpersonal trust is a critical psychological factor that reveals the quality of resident-tourist relationship in tourism destinations. However, residents' positive attitudes toward tourists are gradually taken for granted, with research on residents' psychological tendency (i.e., interpersonal trust) in providing tourism services and creating mutually beneficial resident-tourist interaction lagging behind. Based on interpersonal relationship theory and social exchange theory, this study employed a sequential mixed-methods design to examine the formation of interpersonal trust in tourists during resident participation in rural tourism. The dimensions of resident participation (i.e., decision-making, economic, and social participation) and the conceptual model were first identified through qualitative analysis. Subsequently, through the PLS-based structural equation modeling using a sample of 469 residents from Jiuzhai Valley, China, the study suggested that economic and social participation were instrumental in shaping residents' cognitive and affective trust in tourists both directly and indirectly through residents' perceived benefits of tourism. This study offers implications for academia and destination management to promote sustainable tourism development and social harmony against the crisis of trust between residents and tourists caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Organising the 2020 European Football Championship was fraught with the uncertainties of the pandemic period. Budapest hosted its four allocated matches during the postponed event without stadium capacity restrictions. Drawing on both social exchange theory (SET) and social representation theory (SRT), the study aimed to investigate how the level of fear of COVID-19 before the start of Euro 2020 influenced the perception of the tournament among residents of Budapest. Data were collected by telephone interview during the five days preceding the event based on a representative sample of Budapest residents (n = 1003, adult population aged 18 years and over), accounting for gender, age and place of residence. Cluster analysis identified three groups of residents based on fear of coronavirus: concerned, neutral and unconcerned. Although our study only investigated the opinions of residents in one host city, the relevance of the research appears compelling in that it highlights the crucial role of COVID-19 in influencing responses to the expected impact of Euro 2020. Examining the views of local residents and understanding the factors that influence their opinions play a key role in more successful and sustainable delivery of sporting events. © 2022 by the authors.
ABSTRACT
Santiago de Compostela is one of the best-known pilgrimage routes globally, and it connects many countries in Europe. Its historic center was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. This article aims to assess the types and quality of social interaction among residents and visitors (city users) of this particular World Heritage City. Many studies were conducted prior to this one about Santiago. However, most of them have missed some recent approaches to the overtourism phase. The "overtourism" is a phase, which was notorious until 2019. The primary sourcing was assessed by a quantitative study accompanied by a questionnaire responded by 588 residents. The results confirmed that those more exposed to tourism were the most critical of their relationship with the visitor. Thus, we confirm a direct relationship between the intensity of contact with the visitor and the negative perception of tourism. The results are helpful for local and regional planners to implement more collaborative and democratic planning in the tourism sector. This is more relevant to destinations recognized as UNESCO and revealed an overtourism scenario. This new approach is urgent and must be prepared in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a short and long-term perspective.