Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri Lanka
The main objective of this study was to assess the tourism development perception of residents living in one of Sri Lanka’s most interesting wetland areas, the Muthurajavela Wetland and Negombo Lagoon. Knowledge of resident perception is essential if tourism is to develop in a sustainable manner. W...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Negotia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://193.231.18.162/index.php/subbnegotia/article/view/6798 |
| _version_ | 1827389995136057344 |
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| author | István EGRESI Supun Lahiru PRAKASH Amila WITHANAGE Aruna WEERASINGHA |
| author_facet | István EGRESI Supun Lahiru PRAKASH Amila WITHANAGE Aruna WEERASINGHA |
| author_sort | István EGRESI |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The main objective of this study was to assess the tourism development perception of residents living in one of Sri Lanka’s most interesting wetland areas, the Muthurajavela Wetland and Negombo Lagoon. Knowledge of resident perception is essential if tourism is to develop in a sustainable manner. We found that, in general, local people tend to recognize both the benefits and the costs of tourism development in their community, but their overall assessment of tourism impact is clearly positive. Another important finding of this study is that, while the entire population is supportive of tourism, there are differences in the level of support between groups of residents based on community attachment, income and place of residence. The results of this study are encouraging for future wetland tourism development because of the positive attitudes expressed by the local population. Previous studies have demonstrated that attitude may be linked to behavior. Thus, residents who perceive tourism impacts positively may be more willing to support future tourism development.
Article history: Received: July 10, 2023; Reviewed: October 4, 2023; Accepted: October 30, 2023; Available online: December 25, 2023; Available print: December 30, 2023.
JEL Classification: Z32, F64, M31, O44, Q26
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:44:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-38ccfd3b66b448b6be54c4501b100043 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2065-9636 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:44:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Negotia |
| spelling | doaj.art-38ccfd3b66b448b6be54c4501b1000432024-01-05T09:42:13ZengStudia Universitatis Babes-BolyaiStudia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Negotia2065-96362023-12-0168410.24193/subbnegotia.2023.4.01Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri LankaIstván EGRESI0Supun Lahiru PRAKASH1Amila WITHANAGE2Aruna WEERASINGHA3Department of Human Geography and Tourism, Center for Research on Settlements and Urbanism, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: istvan.egresi@ubbcluj.ro.Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning China; Muthurajawela and Negombo Lagoon Development Foundation, Pamunugama, Sri Lanka. Email: prakashtgsl@gmail.com.Muthurajawela and Negombo Lagoon Development Foundation, Pamunugama, Sri Lanka. Email: withanage.amila@gmail.com.Muthurajawela and Negombo Lagoon Development Foundation, Pamunugama, Sri Lanka. Email: arunaweerasingha@yahoo.com. The main objective of this study was to assess the tourism development perception of residents living in one of Sri Lanka’s most interesting wetland areas, the Muthurajavela Wetland and Negombo Lagoon. Knowledge of resident perception is essential if tourism is to develop in a sustainable manner. We found that, in general, local people tend to recognize both the benefits and the costs of tourism development in their community, but their overall assessment of tourism impact is clearly positive. Another important finding of this study is that, while the entire population is supportive of tourism, there are differences in the level of support between groups of residents based on community attachment, income and place of residence. The results of this study are encouraging for future wetland tourism development because of the positive attitudes expressed by the local population. Previous studies have demonstrated that attitude may be linked to behavior. Thus, residents who perceive tourism impacts positively may be more willing to support future tourism development. Article history: Received: July 10, 2023; Reviewed: October 4, 2023; Accepted: October 30, 2023; Available online: December 25, 2023; Available print: December 30, 2023. JEL Classification: Z32, F64, M31, O44, Q26 http://193.231.18.162/index.php/subbnegotia/article/view/6798wetland, wetland tourism, fragile ecosystems, residents’ attitudes |
| spellingShingle | István EGRESI Supun Lahiru PRAKASH Amila WITHANAGE Aruna WEERASINGHA Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri Lanka Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Negotia wetland, wetland tourism, fragile ecosystems, residents’ attitudes |
| title | Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri Lanka |
| title_full | Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri Lanka |
| title_fullStr | Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri Lanka |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri Lanka |
| title_short | Resident Perception of Tourism Impact in an Environmentally Sensitive Area: The Case of a Wetland in Sri Lanka |
| title_sort | resident perception of tourism impact in an environmentally sensitive area the case of a wetland in sri lanka |
| topic | wetland, wetland tourism, fragile ecosystems, residents’ attitudes |
| url | http://193.231.18.162/index.php/subbnegotia/article/view/6798 |
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