Title: Resident perceptions of sustainable tourism development: Frankenwald Nature Park, Germany

Authors: Ch'aska Huayhuaca, Stuart Cottrell, Jana Raadik, Sabine Gradl

Addresses: Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, 250 Moore St. #110, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA. ' Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, 1480 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. ' Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, 1480 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. ' 2428 W. Coronado Ave., Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA

Abstract: This paper examined the relationship between four dimensions of sustainability and perceptions of tourism development held by residents of communities in and around Frankenwald Nature Park (FNP) in central Germany (n = 306). Building on a previous study (Shen and Cottrell, 2008), it was hypothesised that ratings for the ecological, economic, institutional and socio-cultural dimensions of sustainability would contribute to resident satisfaction. Final dimensional indices consisted of 5-9 survey items with reliability coefficients ranging from 0.63 to 0.87. Regression analyses revealed all four dimensions of sustainability as significant predictors of resident satisfaction with tourism to FNP. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings for understanding tourism sustainability are discussed.

Keywords: sustainable tourism; PoS; prism of sustainability; sustainability dimensions; indicators; resident perceptions; sustainable development; Germany; local communities; resident satisfaction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2010.034207

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2010 Vol.3 No.2, pp.125 - 141

Received: 13 Feb 2009
Accepted: 03 Dec 2009
Published online: 19 Jul 2010 *

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