The influence of community factors on local entrepreneurs' support for tourism

This study probes the influence of community attachment on local entrepreneurs’ perceptions of tourism’s local impacts. Six latent constructs were derived from social exchange theory and community attachment theory; 11 hypotheses were tested, using structural equation modelling, with data from 297 Taiwanese night market entrepreneurs. Significant theoretical contributions to understanding relationships between entrepreneurs and community were found: effects of community satisfaction on support for tourism were significant and fully mediated by perceived benefits. Community factors and tourist contact frequency were important in entrepreneurs' decisions on further tourism development. Community factors showed low but significant relationships with the perceived costs of tourism, A case is made for sustainable tourism governance measures, including partnership creation, destination management systems, and visitor experience planning