The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Residents’ Support for Sustainable Tourism Development

Simona Vinerean, Alin Opreana, Cosmin Tileaga () and Roxana Elena Popșa
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Alin Opreana: Department of Management, Marketing and Business Administration, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550024 Sibiu, Romania
Roxana Elena Popșa: Department of Management, Marketing and Business Administration, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550024 Sibiu, Romania

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-29

Abstract: The tourism industry has been gravely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the purpose of this study was to explore residents’ support for sustainable tourism development in an integrative model that considered well-established factors and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing various research gaps caused by the pandemic, this study aimed to examine a model based on eight hypotheses. Using the premises of a cross-sectional study, data was gathered from residents from Sibiu. Data analysis implied various steps to provide an accurate understanding of the hypotheses and the model was developed based on structural equation modeling. Considering the results of hypothesis testing, our study reconfirmed the applicability of social exchange theory in describing residents’ attitudes toward tourism development and positioned quality of life as an important predictor for this construct. Also, the outcomes highlighted a negative relationship between the host community’s perceptions of the coronavirus pandemic and their subsequent support for sustainable tourism development. Overall, the results focused on offering contributions for a better understanding of residents’ behavior and the influence of the COVID-19 outbreak on their support for sustainable tourism development. The conceptual and practical ramifications of the study were addressed in the article’s conclusion.

Keywords: sustainable tourism development; tourism impacts; COVID-19 impact; quality of life; community attachment; residents’ perceptions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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