The Residents’ Support in Promoting Sport Tourism for the Sustainable Development of Small Islands: The Case of La Réunion Island

Patrick Bouchet () and Olivier Naria ()
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Patrick Bouchet: Center for Research in Management of Organizations (CREGO), UFR STAPS, University de Bourgogne, BP 27877, 21078 Dijon, Cedex, France
Olivier Naria: CEMOI, UFR STAPS, University of La Réunion, 97430 Le Tampon, La Réunion, France

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: Over the past three decades, numerous publications have examined the critical importance of resident support in promoting tourism development, but few of them have focused specifically on residents’ support in promoting (or not) Sport Tourism (ST) for the Sustainable Development (SD) of small islands in a climate-related context. Therefore, the aim of this article is to fill this gap by creating a quantitative model focusing on the social exchange theory adapted to this scientific object. Four specific variables have been explored, namely, positive attitude toward ST, perceptions of SD, and positive and negative perceptions of ST impacts on the SD of islands to test their positive correlation with three varied sets of intentions to support ST for the SD of La Réunion island, which is development, limitation-restriction, and taxation. This exploratory research compares data obtained from 435 questionnaires collected by convenience and snowball sampling from November 2022 to February 2023 from residents of La Réunion island. The results demonstrate that residents are divided in their intention to support ST for the SD of their island. Results also revealed that the more residents shared a positive perception of the impacts of ST and held positive perceptions of these impacts of ST on the SD of the island, the more likely they were to support the development of ST for promoting SD. Additionally, it was noted that the more residents’ held higher perceptions of SD and negative perceptions of ST impacts on SD, they were more inclined towards supporting limitation, restriction, and taxation. The results of this exploratory research may hence provide insight to drive the planning of ST for La Réunion Island by specifically contributing to the formulation of policies and regulations governing tourist activities during the higher season.

Keywords: residents’ perception; sport tourism; sustainable development; social exchange theory; positive and negative impact; support; La Réunion island (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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