The Residents of The Comoros and Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

Sustainable tourism development in island destinations is closely linked to the positive attitude of the local people. And the full participatory approach of the islanders depends on the compatibility of the desired benefits with the perceived benefits, in line with the scope of social change theory. In this respect, this study was conducted in the Comoros, where no research on sustainable tourism has been carried out before although the attractive physical environment draws a significant number of visitors. The study was conducted with multiple research methods. First, a document review of visitor data was done to determine the tourism potential of the Comoros. Then, survey statements were compiled from the relevant literature and 504 local people were surveyed to measure their perception of sustainable tourism. Explanatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, independent t-test and variance analysis were performed in accordance with the research problematic regarding the data obtained. The analysis results show that all dimensions are interrelated and that the environmental dimension is the most important. While there was no significant difference in age and gender characteristics and perceptions of sustainable tourism, it was determined that there was a significant difference in monthly income, education level, city of residence (island) working status sector of employment and marital status of the participants and their perceptions.