Perceived wellbeing – mature vs. developing tourist destination

Abstract

The development of sustainable tourism has the wellbeing of residents as its primary objective, so it is of great importance to consider their perceptions and attitudes towards tourism. This study analyses residents' perceived tourism-related benefits and costs in their community, personal economic benefits of tourism, and overall wellbeing in two types of destinations - mature and developing. In addition, the study identifies determinants of resident wellbeing. Understanding these determinants could be useful for destination managers to gain resident support and improve their wellbeing. The results show that there are significant differences between residents’ perceptions of different types of destinations on all observed concepts. The findings also suggest that perceived overall wellbeing is influenced by a number of factors: place of residence (mature/developing destination), level of support for tourism development, income, age, and perceived benefits and costs of tourism. However, perceived personal economic benefits of tourism were not associated with wellbeing.