Livability and resident attitudes towards tourism

Abstract

While the tourism literature has tangentially investigated concepts related to tourism’s impact on the livability of communities through studies on topics such as overtourism, there has yet to be a direct measure of residents’ perceptions towards the livability of tourism destinations and how these perceptions of livability influence resident support for tourism. Using Livability Theory and a Conservation of Resources theoretical framework, our research samples residents from the nature-based tourism gateway community of Brevard in Transylvania County, North Carolina, to validate the Livability Scale and demonstrate its predictive validity over resident support for tourism. The hierarchical regression analyses comparing the new Livability Scale’s predictive validity over resident support for tourism found the Livability Scale significantly outperformed standard resident attitude towards tourism models by 25 percentage points. For managers, the strong negative influence of livability on resident support for tourism suggests they need a good pulse on what residents deem essential about their community and must work extra hard to ensure tourism does not infringe on these vital resources. The combination of Livability Theory and the Conservation of Resources Theory provides overtourism researchers with a new theoretical explanation as to why residents are increasingly engaging in anti-tourism protests around the world.

Citation

Boley, B. Bynum; Perren, Chase; Chitaunga, Philip S.; White, Eric M.; Green, Gary T. 2026. Livability and resident attitudes towards tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism: 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2026.2648563.