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Social Impacts of Tourism

TOMG200 Tourism Management & Environment

Definition of society
the social relationships that exist between people
with a common interest
the arrangement of social relationships in a group
(Hall & Lew, 2009: 141)

Tourism is a cultural phenomenon that impacts


culture and society, and is shaped by cultures and
society

Potential positive social impacts


Generation of incomes and jobs;
higher living standards
Increased community pride
Construction of new and
improved facilities
Modernisation of the family via
new gender roles
Broadening social horizons and
reduced prejudice among tourists
Global understanding and
international peace

Positive impacts
Keeps local traditions and
culture alive
Empowers marginal societal
groups women, indigenous
peoples
Cross-fertilisation of different
cultural backgrounds
Reduces dependency on illegal
commodities (e.g. drugs).

Potential negative impacts


Polarisation of social structure and
increased income inequalities;
benefits not evenly distributed
Disintegration of the family and
traditional value structures
Tourists fail to respect local norms
or behaviour, customs and moral
values
Social pathology, including
prostitution, drugs, crime.

Implications
The tourist resort is not just a
geographical location It reflects norms and attitudes that
become exposed through the type
of tourist development that is
being permitted.

Social impacts - norms


The nature of that
culture.

Host
communities
are not
homogeneous

Reflects not only


norms, but the power
and political
structures

Determinants of tourism impacts


Numbers of visitors
Ratio of visitors to host
Cultural and economic differences between hosts and
guests (social distance)
Presence or absence of seasonality
Places of contact
Nature of contact

The processes of social impact


The Demonstration Effect (Doxey 1972)
The introduction of new behaviours and
different values in a destination community
as a result of tourism
Imitation by locals of behaviours displayed
by tourists
The behaviours are seen as having value for
hosts; can result in a shift in social structure

The issues economic inequality and power.

The processes of social impact


Irritation Index (Doxey
1975)
The attitudes of local
residents toward tourism
unfold through a series of
stages over time:

EUPHORIA
APATHY
ANNOYANCE
ANTAGONISM
FINAL/NORMAL
REALISM
(Hall & Lew, 2009)

How are social impacts measured?

There is a need to find indices that are measurable.

Possible indices to measure the


social impact of tourism

Population changes
Employment changes
Displacement and relocation effects
Neighbourhood disruption
Noise impacts
Aesthetic Impacts
Land use patterns

Possible indices to measure the


social impact of tourism

Accessibility changes
Leisure/recreation impacts
Health and safety
Citizens reactions
Crime statistics
Stressful community growth
Community decline

Encounter indices
Visitor perception of impact on the
environment
Amount of litter / rubbish in the area
Visitor satisfaction measures
Host reports of undesirable visitor
behaviour

Encounter indices
Host satisfaction
Visitor reports of undesirable tourist
behaviour
Host reports of undesired social and
environmental impacts

Types of questions being used


Tourism is good for the local economy
Tourism provides many jobs
Tourism will help the area by encouraging
interest in local Maori culture .
Tourism led to more petty crime .
Local residents are the people who mainly
suffer from living in a tourist area .

Types of questions being used


Tourism means a growth in property prices
beyond the reach of younger local people
I feel we should severely limit growth to
protect the environment .
I feel that the tourism/planning authorities
should consider plans to restrict the growth
of tourism .

This weeks reading:


Chapter 4 of Hall & Lew (2009)

Other reading resources:


Faulkner & Tideswell (1997) A Framework for Monitoring
Community Impacts of Tourism. Journal of Sustainable
Tourism, 5(1), 3-28.
Deery, Jago & Fredline (2012) Rethinking Social Impacts of
Tourism Research. Tourism Management, 33, 64-73.
Waitt (2003) Social Impacts of The Sydney Olympics. Annals
of Tourism Research, 30(1), 194-215.
King, Pizam & Milman (1993) Social Impacts of Tourism. Host
Perceptions. Annals of Tourism Research, 20, 650-665.

Case Study: The Social Impact of


Tourism in Thailand
Watch the film: The Impact of Tourism
Thailand G155 .T5I46 2003
http://waikato.lconz.ac.nz/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibI
d=610595

Individual Discussion Question (2): What are


the social impacts of tourism in Thailand?

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