Tourism impact research methods and case studies

Socio-Cultural Impacts
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Quantitative survey design (Qualitative also possible, but problematic)
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Applied to the general population (citizens)
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It is important to separate citizen who benefit from tourism and who do 
not 
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by asking directly a question about benefits (a street or a 
household survey)
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Sample size: minimum 200-380 respondents, depending on the 
population size (for 95% of accuracy with 5% confidence interval); for 
SEM studies 200 is recommended
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Likert 5-level scale (most common)
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TOURISM IMPACTS RESEARCH: THE SURVEY
Socio-Cultural Impacts
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Problems with qualitative survey
- Need to build rapport to have people’s trust to share what can be their 
personal details or controversial information
- Own internal biases impact what researchers see (reliability issue)
- Biases in sampling: “average citizen” vs the vocal minority 
(generalizability issue)
- There are strategies to reduce those issues
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TOURISM IMPACTS RESEARCH: THE SURVEY
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Example of a quantitative survey 

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TOURISM IMPACTS RESEARCH: THE SURVEY
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TOURISM IMPACTS RESEARCH: THE SURVEY
Economic Impacts
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Choice between quantitative objective data-based or subjective (perception) 
solutions
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Quantitative “objective” survey requires good economic data 
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usually possible only 
at regional or local level
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Answers questions: What portion of sales by local businesses is due to tourism? How 
many jobs in the area does tourism support? How much tax revenue is generated 
from tourism?
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