Tourism attitude of the Tyrolean population

Elias Horngacher: The tourism mindset describes the general attitude and perception of the local population towards tourism and its effects. It includes economic, ecological and socio-cultural dimensions. Influencing factors include perceived advantages, social interactions and personal benefits. In contrast to tourism awareness (knowledge about tourism) and hospitality (relationship with guests), the attitude towards tourism reflects the overall attitude of the locals. It is crucial for the acceptance and sustainable development of tourism.

Elias Horngacher: The topic of the master's thesis is particularly relevant for the Tyrolean tourism industry, as tourism plays an important economic role in Tyrol and at the same time has a profound impact on the social and ecological structure of the region. Tourism accounts for 17.5% of the gross domestic product in Tyrol and presents both opportunities and challenges for the Tyrolean population. As locals and tourists often share the same spaces, a close coexistence of living and vacation space is created. In such an environment, mutual understanding and acceptance of tourism is essential to ensure sustainable coexistence.

Elias Horngacher: Of those surveyed, 34.9% have a positive and 39.7% a rather positive attitude towards tourism. A neutral attitude is held by 17.2%, while 7.9% are rather negative and only 0.3% have a clearly negative attitude. Overall, this means that over 90% of the Tyrolean population have at least a non-negative attitude towards tourism, with around three quarters of respondents having a positive or rather positive attitude.

The analysis of the hypotheses shows that the economic benefits of tourism have a clear positive influence on the population's attitude towards tourism. Positive socio-cultural and ecological effects also have a significant influence. In each case, the positive effects are weighted more heavily than the negative ones, resulting in a positive influence on attitudes towards tourism. Other important factors that influence attitudes are perceived tourism development measures, the quality of social interactions between locals and travelers and whether the respondent derives a personal benefit from tourism. Even though 80% of respondents stated that they were at least strongly attached to their place of residence, emotional attachment to their place of residence had no discernible influence on attitudes towards tourism.

In summary, it can be said that tourist destinations and businesses in Tyrol can certainly benefit from the overall positive attitude of the population. It can be crucial for businesses to promote the quality of social interactions between locals and guests, as respectful and pleasant encounters have a positive influence on the attitude towards tourism. Measures to improve the guest experience should therefore also take into account respect and consideration for the local population. As personal benefits from tourism play another key role, businesses and destinations could benefit from greater involvement of locals in tourism offers, for example through incentives, events or direct participation in projects.

Elias Horngacher: The generalizability and significance of the results are limited. The unequal gender and age distribution as well as the strong geographical concentration on the district of Kitzbühel lead to a limited representativeness of the sample for the entire province of Tyrol.