RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON TOURISM IMPACT FACTORS: A STUDY OF OHRID, NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

Rapid tourism growth may negatively affect the sustainability of the destination and disrupt the life of local residents. This paper explores the direct and indirect connections among tourism impact factors in the area of sustainability. Exploratory factor analysis is conducted in order to assess the underlying dimension of residents’ satisfaction with given impacts of tourism development. The authors use the three-pillar sustainability concept (socio-cultural, environmental and economic) and suggest a model that measures residents’ attitudes on tourism impacts. The model is empirically tested by elaborating the case of Ohrid (North Macedonia). The study informs tourism policy makers how to manage tourism impacts and to improve sustainability perspective. The proposed model can be adopted and applied to any tourism destination facing unsustainable development.