Formulation and testing of social impacts assessment for tourism development

The growth of the tourism industry, and its acceptance as an integral part of Australia's economic fabric has led to increasing attempts by Australian communities to attract tourists. While techniques have been developed for considering the economic, and environmental, implications of tourism for communities, investigation of social impacts has remained relatively unsophisticated. Despite the development of general social impacts assessment methods both internationally (Finsterbusch, Llwellyn, and Wolf, 1983; Canter, Atkinson, and Leistritz, 1986), and in Australia (Bowles, 1981; Wildman, 1985; Robinson and Syme, 1988), there has not been a systematic attempt to apply these methods in the context of tourism development. This thesis argues that the unique characteristics of tourism arise from the interaction of supplier and consumer in the supplier's environment. The need for communities to 'host' tourists emphasises the potential impacts of this interaction. This study adopts a definition of community that considers both geographical boundaries, and the propensity of residents within those boundaries to make use of community facilities. Within the host community, a variety of perceptions of the impacts of tourism may exist. It is concluded that social impacts are the consequences of development on the quality of life of community members. Assessing the social impacts of tourism development involves assessing the threats and opportunities that these developments present to the quality of life. The thesis proposes a method which can be used to gauge the level of resident's participation in the community, their quality of life priorities, and their attitudes to specific tourism developments. The method was piloted in the Central Queensland community of Mt Morgan. Analysis of the pilot study indicated that the social impacts of tourism can be assessed by exploring the interactions between community participation, quality of life, and the attributes of tourism developments. The methodological analysis and pilot study led to the development of the Host Attitudes to Tourism (HATT) Model, which contributes to tourism social impacts assessment by formally modelling the processes of the development of community attitudes to tourism. The thesis does not champion a particular theoretical approach to tourism social impacts assessment, but develops a methodological technique and model which can assist communities in assessing the full range of implications of attracting tourists.