The Impacts of Tourism Development on Stakeholders' Quality of Life (QOL): A comparison between community residents and employed residents in the hospitality and tourism industry

Abstract

The primary goal of this dissertation is to determine the relationship between the effects of tourism and stakeholders' quality of life. Specifically, the research investigates stakeholders' perception of the impact of tourism on their life domains, their satisfaction with life domains, and their overall life satisfaction. The relationships among these three components are examined. Depending on the types of stakeholders, their perceptions of and attitudes toward the impact of tourism and quality of life might be different. Therefore, the moderating effect of stakeholders' perceptions of the impact of tourism in life domains and satisfaction with life domains is investigated. Accordingly, the study proposes three research questions: (1) Does the perception of tourism impact in life domains affect satisfaction with different life domains? (2) Does satisfaction with life domains affect overall QOL? (3) Does the perspective of different stakeholders have a moderating effect on the relationship between the perception of tourism impacts in life domains and satisfaction with life domains?

The sample population of stakeholders residing in Hawaii, Virginia, Orlando (FL), Las Vegas (NV), and New York City (NY) was surveyed. Four hundred seven usable questionnaires were subjected to data analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) were performed to test the hypotheses.

The results revealed that the stakeholders' perception of the impact of tourism in the material life domain did affect their material life domain satisfaction. This study also indicated that their satisfaction with the material and non-material life domains significantly influenced their overall quality of life. The hypothesized moderating effects of the perspective of different stakeholders on the relationship between the perception of the impact of tourism in material/non-material life domain and the material/non-material life satisfaction were supported.