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Residents’ perception towards tourism impacts in Kashmir

Asif Hamid Charag (Department of Management Studies, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, India)
Asif Iqbal Fazili (Department of Management Studies, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, India)
Irfan Bashir (Department of Management Studies, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, India)

International Journal of Tourism Cities

ISSN: 2056-5607

Article publication date: 28 October 2020

Issue publication date: 15 October 2021

630

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the residents’ perception towards environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of tourism development in Kashmir.

Design/methodology/approach

The research instrument containing 27 items pertaining to six variables is adopted from the literature. A mix-method survey approach is used to solicit residents’ perceptions regarding environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of the current level of tourism development. A total of 326 useful responses were subjected to descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc analysis using SPSS (Version 22.0).

Findings

In general, the negative and positive impacts of tourism development are well perceived by the residents. The results indicate that the residents display positive perception regarding economic impacts, however, social and environmental impacts are negatively perceived. Furthermore, barring level of education, the study found no significant difference in the residents’ perception towards tourism impacts (environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality of life and cost of living).

Research limitations/implications

The paper identifies perceived impacts and issues of tourism development thereby, proposing possible mitigating measures. Also, the study identifies the need to develop a comprehensive policy framework addressing the issues related to the resident’s negative feelings towards tourism impacts. Further, the study envisages the need for engaging residents in developing a progressive and participatory planning process for future tourism activities in the area.

Social implications

The study offers critical social implications for city tourism development. It suggests a community-based approach should be adopted to sensitize residents about the positive benefits of tourism.

Originality/value

The study is a novel attempt concerning residents’ residents perceptual differences towards tourism impacts. Furthermore, this study investigated socio-cultural impacts of tourism under two separate categories for better understanding. in doing so, this study provides finer understanding of perception of residents towards tourism impacts in Indian context. The findings of the study will prove critical for different stakeholders in developing future tourism framework and policies in the region.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are highly indebted to the insightful comments and suggestions of the two anonymous reviewers.Conflict of interest: Authors declare no potential conflict of interest.

Citation

Charag, A.H., Fazili, A.I. and Bashir, I. (2021), "Residents’ perception towards tourism impacts in Kashmir", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 741-766. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-11-2019-0202

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, International Tourism Studies Association.

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