Attitudes and Perceptions of Messenia’s Residents on the Impacts Caused by Alternative Forms of Tourism

Alternative forms of tourism are associated with environmental and cultural values that allow both the community and tourists to interact with each other and share their experiences. Framed by Butler’s Social Exchange Theory, this preliminary quantitative study examines the attitudes and perceptions of Messenia’s Prefecture’s residents, regarding the economic, environmental, and social, impacts caused by alternative tourism activities. The research tool was based on a review of relevant literature, and explored the social (10 items), economic (6 items) and environmental negative impacts (14 items) and the agreement to the statements were based on a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The sample consisted of 112 permanent residents of Messenia Prefecture that were selected by random sampling. The study indicated that the major concern of participants towards the impacts of alternative tourism activities were the negative economic impacts. A positive correlation was observed between the negative social impacts of tourism and the participants’ income. Overall, most residents will be satisfied with a tourism increase in their region when if the economic benefits outweigh the negative impacts. This research attempts to identify the residents’ perceptions on tourism negative impacts where local authorities and stakeholders can consider the perceived implications, for the well-being of local communities.