AUGUST 2000JOURNAL OF TRAVEL RESEARCH The Relationship between Residents’ Attitudes toward Tourism and Tourism Development Options

Many rural communities view tourism as an economic development strategy. This study explores the relationship between resident attitudes toward tourism and support for specific tourism development options. In addition, attitudes and support for development in seven diverse communities are compared. Results indicate that communities differ with respect to residents ’ support for specific tourism develop-ment options and attitudes toward tourism. In general, resi-dents perceive tourism positively and support most specific types of development. There is a relationship between atti-tudes and support for development, although the nature of the relationship is different for each community. Rural communities have been going through changes, often substantial changes, over the past decade. Many of the primary industries on which community residents depen