Perceptions of Tourism and Quality of Life: A Case Study in Savannah, Georgia

The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that Travel and Tourism accounted for 10.3% of the world economy in 2019 and ¼ of all net new jobs over the past five years. Savannah, Georgia has experienced huge growth in the last decade due to tourism, with visitor spending on lodging alone increasing from $466 million in 2009 to $1 billion in 2019. The current study examined differences in perceived impact of tourism on quality of life using established predictors of tourism sentiments. An online community survey was conducted in Chatham County, Georgia (N = 94) using the Tourism Quality of Life scale. The survey evaluated residents’ perceptions of importance, satisfaction, and tourism impacts in regards to various community quality of life indicators. Results indicated significant differences in participant’s belief in the role tourism should play inthe economy and scores of perceived impact of tourism on quality of life, H (2) =14.5, p = .001, η2=2.45 (large effect size). Results also indicated there were significant differences in scores of perceived impact of tourism on quality of life between participants who own or rent their homes, U = 398, Z = -3.385, p = .001, r = -.0036. A step-wise regression analysis showed that perceived benefit from tourism predicted perceived impact of tourism on quality of life scores, R² = .468, R²Δ = .219, F(1,84) = 23.52, p \u3c .001, which was joined by home ownership in Model 2, R² = .543, R²Δ= .076, F(1,83) = 8.993, p = .004