Segmenting Resident Perceptions Towards Tourism - A Cluster Analysis with a Multinomial Logit Model of a Mountain Community

Abstract

This study investigates aspects of host perception to be used for the formulation of possible strategic tourism policies. A community segmentation framework with cluster analysis and multinomial logit model was applied to data of Folgaria - a small mountain community in Trentino South-Tyrol, northern Italy - to reveal the heterogeneity of resident’s perception towards tourism impacts. The results of this study reflect the overall opinions of the sample population, and further identifies relatively homogeneous opinion groups. Positive and negative perceptions about tourism in the region generate a division of residents in environmental supporters, development supporters, protectionist, and ambivalent; all groups are influenced by the employment in the tourism sector. This study further identifies the effect of demographic variation on the analyzed cluster and on the residents’ attitudes towards tourism, contributing to the debate on local tourism development.