A Cross-cultural Analysis of Tourism and Quality of Life Perceptions

Models of sustainable tourism consider not only the aspects of the physical environment but also the dimensions of the social and cultural environment of destinations. During the past two decades a number of researchers have made the case that local residents must be involved in tourism development decisions if support for, and thereby sustainability of, the industry is to be maintained. Minority ethnic and racial groups, however, are often differentially influenced by tourism within a community. This study investigates the differences between Hispanic and Anglo residents with respect to their perceptions of tourism and quality of life framed with the context of ethnicity marginality theory.