DETUROPE - The Central European Journal of Regional Development and Tourism 2024, 16(2):80-100 | DOI: 10.32725/det.2024.021

Let the voice of residents' be heard. Factors determining support for tourism development in Western Serbia

Tamara Surlaa, Tatjana Pivacb, Marko D. Petrović$cd
a University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences-Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel
Management, Novi Sad, Serbia
b University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences-Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel
Management, Novi Sad, Serbia
c Geographical Institute "Jovan Cvijić", Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA), Belgrade 11000,
Serbia
d Department of Regional Economics and Geography, Faculty of Economics, RUDN University (Peoples
Friendship University of Russia), Moscow 117198, Russia

The most essential part of a tourist destination are local residents, whose views must be understood to develop tourism sustainably. This research aims to investigate the attitudes of the local residents (n= 845) towards the development of tourism in Western Serbia. By applying the principal component exploratory factor analysis (EFA), three factors have been identified that reflect the views of the local residents on the development of tourism. Those factors are the perception of tourism benefits, support for tourism development, and attachment to the community. Also, this research aims to investigate whether the attitudes of the residents differ according to their sociodemographic characteristics. The results of the paper show that the residents have a positive attitude towards the development of tourism in Western Serbia and that their attitudes partially differ about their sociodemographic characteristics.

Keywords: attitudes of the local residents, tourism development, Western Serbia, tourism benefits, tourism development, attachment to the community

Received: December 4, 2023; Revised: September 9, 2024; Accepted: February 2, 2025; Prepublished online: February 10, 2025; Published: February 3, 2025  Show citation

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Surla, T., Pivac, T., & Petrović$c, M.D. (2024). Let the voice of residents' be heard. Factors determining support for tourism development in Western Serbia. DETUROPE - The Central European Journal of Regional Development and Tourism, 16(2), 80-100. doi: 10.32725/det.2024.021
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