Rural destination development based on olive oil tourism: The impact of residents' community attachment and quality of life on their support for tourism development

Abstract

Residents are an essential part of tourism destinations, which makes gaining a deeper understanding of residents' attitudes towards tourism development necessary because their favourable attitudes can contribute to destinations' success. This study sought to understand to what extent rural residents' perceptions of tourism development in their region affect their intention to support further tourism development. The present research also focused on the influence of the variables of community attachment and perceived quality of life on the relationship between residents' perceptions of and intentions to support this development. This study concentrated on the case of olive oil tourism development in the Sierra de Gata and Las Hurdes districts in Spain. To test the proposed model, the data were collected from a sample of 245 residents in this region. Partial least squares was used to assess the model's accuracy. The results highlight the importance of residents' perceptions and their community attachment and perceived quality of life to destination managers who plan and develop tourism projects.