Title: Effects of a street tour project on public attitudes toward homeless people, and a tarnished city district

Authors: Shu-Chun Lucy Huang; Li-Pin Lynn Lin

Addresses: Department of Tourism, Shih Hsin University, #111, Sec. 1, Mu-Cha Road, Taipei 116, Taiwan ' Department of Leisure and Recreation Management, Ming Chuan University, #250 Zhong Shan N. Rd., Sec. 5, Taipei 111, Taiwan

Abstract: In many countries, homelessness has become a widespread social problem in large cities. The aim of this paper was to explore the outcomes of Hidden Taipei, a street tour project aligned with the concept of social entrepreneurship, which trains local homeless people to become tour guides. Questionnaire surveys were carried out in the Wanhua District, which has the largest congregation of homeless people in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. Questionnaires were distributed to participants of street tours before and after their tours; 309 valid questionnaires were obtained. Our findings showed that participants positively evaluated the interpretation abilities of homeless tour guides (HTGs) and were extremely satisfied with the tours. After the tours, participants' attitudes toward homeless people changed significantly. Moreover, participants' positive emotions toward the district, and sense of safety in the tarnished Wanhua District increased.

Keywords: tourism social entrepreneurship; TSE; tour guide; homeless people; interpretation abilities; attitudes toward homelessness; sense of safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEI.2022.128562

International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2022 Vol.6 No.2, pp.94 - 110

Received: 08 Sep 2021
Accepted: 06 Nov 2021
Published online: 26 Jan 2023 *

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