Tourism impact research methods and case studies

Environmental Impacts
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Quantitative resident/tourist survey design possible (perception of 
impacts)
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Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the most common method of 
evaluation specific impact of planned projects (e.g., building a hotel)
- Used to evaluate impact, propose alternative solutions and assist 
decision makers about permitting certain project
- Most countries use EIA for projects such as urban development, 
airports, road construction, harbors, project in mountains and forests, 
etc. (e.g., Korea - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ACT, 2008)
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TOURISM IMPACTS: CASE STUDY 2
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TOURISM IMPACTS: CASE STUDY 2
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•
The goal: to examine the South Korean residents’ perceptions of the 
impacts of the 2002 World Cup Games on their communities before and 
after the games
•
Rationale: Balance between costs and benefits before and after the 
event. Because of media and politics, local residents are likely to believe 
that expected benefits of hosting the mega event would exceed the 
expected cost.
•
Theoretical concepts: Social Exchange Theory
•
Methods: Quantitative survey (residents’ perceptions)
•
Statistics: MANOVA and a series of ANOVA tests 

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TOURISM IMPACTS: CASE STUDY 2
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Benefits of mega events
•
Although they are one-time and short-term events, they have 
long-term positive consequences for the cities:
- growth of tourism (tax revenues, employments, opportunities for 
potential investors, etc.)
- opportunities for international publicity and recognition of the 
host community 

increase of community pride
- improvement of the host community’s quality of life 
(infrastructure, leisure facilities, etc.)

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TOURISM IMPACTS: CASE STUDY 2
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