Tourism Management during Covid-19 Era: Evaluating Corfiots’ Perceptions

Abstract

Considering the importance of local communities in the successful implementation of tourism management and planning, the present study aims to investigate residents’ perceptions of the socioeconomic impact of tourism on Corfu, a leading tourist destination in the Mediterranean Sea. A survey of 340 residents of Corfu between 2021 and 2022 indicated that, on average, the local community believed that tourism drives economic development and leads to an increase in the cost of living on the island. Women were less likely to acknowledge the positive economic effects of tourism on Corfu and residents with lower educational levels were more likely to perceive the adverse social effects of tourism on the local community. An examination of the relationships among the dimensions of perceived tourism impact indicated that tourism-driven economic development had a positive effect on high cost of living and improvements in the destination’s physical environment. Subsequently, residents perceived that high cost of living and improvements in the physical environment contributed to alcohol consumption and criminal activity at the destination. Using structural equation modelling, this study provides an original examination of the interrelationships among the different dimensions of perceived tourism impact and suggests ways to alleviate the perceived negative effects of tourism activity.