Tourist development in Gozo : resident attitudes and reactions

Abstract

The primary aim of this dissertation is to examine the premise of there being an inverse relationship between the level of tourist development in Gozo and the perceived impacts for the worse on the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural status of the host community. Using structured personal interviews administered to Gozitans residing in areas of high and low tourist density and development, I will investigate the contention that the areas that are obliged to enter into intensive contact with tourists will exhibit growing hostility and resistance whereas those relatively secluded from the "invading hordes" still hold welcoming and cordial attitudes. The findings of this research do not confirm the above hypothesis: the residents who are most exposed to tourists have a more positive perception of the economic, enviromnental, and socio-cultural impacts of tourist development in Gozo than the residents who are sheltered from tourist attention. I propose that residents' attitudes to tourism are not only influenced by the level of exposure to tourism, but also by such factors as the residents' extent of adherence to a traditional mode of life, their educational achievement, and extent of holiday travel engaged in by the residents.