Evaluating the Grass Root Level Perspective on Rural Tourism Development An Empirical Study

Abstract

For any successful tourism project, it is important to know the local residents perceptions and attitudes toward tourism under its influences. It has long been recognized that tourism has complex impacts in economic, environmental and socio-cultural aspects which could greatly influence local residents life. Many people consider tourism as a development tool for communities especially in the rural areas experiencing economic hardships, tourism often is considered an instrument for revitalization of a local economy helping to improve quality of life and protect natural and cultural resources. Hence, research on local residents perceptions of tourism s impacts related with these issues would make some certain contributions to tourism literature of this important research field and it becomes very important that planners give a due consideration to attitudes of local people towards tourism development in their locality before an actual development takes place. newlineThis study was conducted to study perceptions and attitudes of rural residents of Kashmir region towards rural tourism development impacts and also their perceived participation in future tourism development. A self-administered questionnaire survey was operated with a sample size of 380 respondents from 03 rural tourism sites located in three different sub-regions of Kashmir region. The varied impacts of tourism concerning the local tourism setting were investigated from the perspective of the local residents. Furthermore, the study also tried to theoretically develop and empirically test a conceptual model to test any relationship between the perceived rural tourism impacts and corresponding involvement by residents in tourism process. Also, the theoretical model guided to test any difference of perception among the residents on the basis of their demographic characteristics. The model testing confirmed that residents perception regarding tourism impact was an important variable that explained residents perceived participation in tourism activities.