Residents’ perceptions towards tourism in a rural Cretan community

The majority of past research on residents’ attitudes has examined the influence of various factors such as sociodemographic characteristics, economic dependency on tourism, distance that residents live from the tourist zone and stage of the host community’s development. In addition to this, the vast majority of research has been undertaken in regions where tourism is a prevalent economic activity. As a result, there are limited studies on residents’ attitudes in communities where tourism development is in its infancy. Bearing this in mind, the current paper investigates the perceptions of residents in a rural Cretan community where tourism is not well developed although the area has great potential for further development. It also assesses the influence of two factors (number of residents and place of residence - coastal vs. inland) on residents’ perceptions. Research employed a telephone survey on a sample of 65 residents. The findings of the research revealed that people leaving in coastal areas and in higher populated communities supported stronger the positive impacts of tourism on the local economy, although they expressed higher concerns about its negative impacts on the natural environment. These findings are in accordance with Doxey’s model, which suggests that residents’ perceptions and attitudes are more positive in the early stages of tourism development. Also, the study of the Cretan rural community residents revealed that there is a development gap between coastal and inland areas, as well as, between areas with low and high population density. This study, taking into consideration the above remarks, proposes measures for the future development of the area.