Residents’ Perceptions toward Tourism Development: A Case Study from Grand Canyon National Park, USA

A significant gap exists between the desires of residents in gateway communities near Grand Canyon National Park for tourism development and the current state of affairs, highlighting the need for targeted management strategies to mitigate tourism impacts. The study identified five key drivers of local support for national park tourism: community participation, living environment, trust in tourism institutions, tourism benefits, and community satisfaction, while perceived tourism cost was not a significant factor. Researchers used importance–performance analysis (IPA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess these factors across five gateway communities, providing insights that could guide sustainable tourism planning and policy-making.

Hu, F., Kong, W., Innes, J. L., Wu, W., Sunderland, T., & Wang, G. (2022). Residents’ Perceptions toward Tourism Development: A Case Study from Grand Canyon National Park, USA. Sustainability, 14(20), 13128. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013128