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
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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
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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 week’s 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?bibId
=610595
Individual Discussion Question (2): What are
the social impacts of tourism in Thailand?