Perceptions of place, modernity and the impacts of tourism – Differences among rural and urban residents of Ankang, China: A likelihood ratio analysis

Abstract

This paper reports results from a survey of urban and rural residents’ of the perceived impacts of change induced by tourism in Ankang, China. The paper will initially indicate the literature that informed the research and the geographical context of the study. Second, results derived from a questionnaire that incorporated both open-ended and closed questions will be presented. The concepts that informed the research were derived from past similar studies, place attachment and senses of modernity. Initial analysis showed no differences between urban and rural residents, both on impact assessment scales and categorical data derived from the coding of responses to open-ended questions. Overall it was found that residents had favourable attitudes toward tourism. The use of comparison based likelihood ratios did reveal some nuanced differences between ‘high’ and ‘low scorers’ relating to the issues of economic development and pollution independent of place of residence but based on a sense of that place of residence being ‘special’. The total number of respondents was 474. Implications for future studies are discussed and include comments on the need for direct contact and observation.