Community’s Involvement and Support for Tourism Development: The Case of Asik-Asik Waterfalls in North Cotabato, Philippines

With the expansion of the tourism industry globally, growing interest in exploring its impacts through the viewpoints of the host community has emerged. Extant literatures in this topic primarily depict findings from developed countries, whereas there is paucity of studies focusing on locals’ insights in developing nations, especially in the Philippine context. Asik-Asik Waterfalls remained hidden from the public eye until its photo went viral on the Internet. This study was conducted to evaluate the community’s attitude and support levels of tourism in Asik-Asik Waterfalls, North Cotabato, Philippines. Data were collected using questionnaires from 75 respondents randomly sampled. Collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and tests of mean differences. Results revealed that tourism has created positive effects in terms of employment, business generation, and improvement in income. Residents’ attitudes towards tourism impacts were affirmative, but variations exist across different sociodemographic factors. Findings substantiate the social exchange theory, in which individuals gaining benefits from tourism are more positively disposed and supportive of its development. The results reveal that residents recognize tourism as an important economic propeller, and majority strongly agreed that tourism has been indispensable in providing jobs and business prospects for the local community