HOST ACCEPTANCE OF TOURISTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The social impact of tourism has only been recently studied in greater detail, and one of the major perspectives examined is the nature, development and consequences of the 'tourist-host' relationship. A review of the literature shows that relatively little has been done on the 'host' perspective, and most lack conceptual frameworks. Furthermore, certain findings conflict with each other. Also, there is a definite lack of studies being done in the Asian region. Accounting for this, an established four-fold framework, the Doxey's (1975) 'irridex', is used in this present study to examine the host attitudes, and their consequent acceptance of tourists in Singapore. The irridex is a gauge of 'irritation' intensities marked by a progressive change in the attitudes of the host population towards tourists and tourism development, from 'euphoria', 'apathy', 'irritation', to 'antagonism'. Consequently, five hypotheses are set up. The first is to measure the irridex of Singaporeans, using both qualitative and quantitative-oriented approaches. The second looks into the spatial variation of the irridex. It is envisaged that residents who live nearer to the main tourist core have less acceptance compared to those who live further. The third hypothesis looks into the socio-economic variation of the irridex, as it is thought that certain socioeconomic classes may derive less benefits from tourism and hence have less acceptance of tourists. The fourth hypothesis concerns the host sociocultural preferences of various groups of tourists and the final hypothesis attempts to throw more light into their attitudes towards the future tourism situation in Singapore. Of the five hypotheses, the first two are based strictly on the Doxey’s ( 1975) irridex, while the remaining three hypotheses are auxiliary to the irridex. To operationalise all five hypotheses, a structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The field work was then carried out in eight residential areas to cover three hundred and twenty local residents. An in-depth questionnaire complemented the structured questionnaire.

Besides the quantitative-oriented analysis involving 'weighting' systems, the bulk of the anal)'sis and interpretation of data is based largely on the Singaporean experience. As different geographical and cultural contexts generate uniquely different experiences which helped shape the attitudes of the local residents, some of the findings in this study differ from those found in the west. It is hoped that more Asian-based studies, including conceptual frameworks, can be developed so that a greater appreciation of host attitudes towards tourists can be realised.