Residents’ emotional responses to tourism development in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore residents’ emotional responses to tourism development and how the anticipated loss or gain of resources from it affects their attitudes and actions. The study extends the conservation of resources (COR) theory by using the cognitive appraisal (CA) theory to explain why the residents of Al-Juhfa village in Saudi Arabia become stressed and experience negative emotions due to tourism development and how they respond and cope with it. Design/methodology/approach This study uses qualitative methods by applying purposive interviews to engage informants. Data were gathered from 38 residents of Al-Juhfa village, Saudi Arabia. A content analysis of the data collected was used. Findings Findings indicate that residents who perceived they might lose resources (land, houses, heritage, sociocultural and Islamic values and job and investment opportunities) due to tourism development had negative emotions and attitudes towards tourism development. This led a group of residents to resist development and not allow tourists to enter the village. Without tourism knowledge and skills, the residents are worried they may lose control of their resources. Religiosity was a factor that helped to cope with the negative emotions, and other coping actions included accepting displacement with compensation, allowing foreign workers to enter the village with conditions and accepting development with their involvement. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the current study are that the data were gathered for the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak when residents were highly anxious and still feeling fear; these feelings could have influenced the responses. Secondly, the data were collected through hardcopy surveys using close- and open-ended questions. Therefore, these data might be limited, as the topic and questions were politicaly sensitive, and the informants might not have completely expressed their feelings, giving diplomatic answers instead. Therefore, the research should be repeated in different contexts with qualitative data using face-to-face techniques. Practical implications Firstly, the residents are concerned about losing their resources, such as land, houses and heritage. The development cannot be fully successful without the involvement and support of the local community. Therefore, the government should help them remain in their village by offering them official permission (sukuk) to retain their land and houses. Secondly, the government can open new residential areas and build homes for the residents within the current village, especially as the village has only a few people. Residential areas, such as a compound with complete services, can be designed as part of the tourist attractions in Al-Juhfa. Social implications The two theories of COR and CA were developed in the western context and used in tourism studies separately in other contexts, especially CA. However, as far as the authors’ concern, this is the first study to use the two theories in one study to explore residents’ emotions towards tourism development. Both theories explained the process of residents’ emotions towards tourism impact and the negative emotional reactions to perceived threats and resultant stress and how residents cope with these emotions. Nevertheless, in the context of Al-Juhfa as a conservative community, these two theories are not the only factors that explain the residents’ emotional response and attitude, instated that the residents’ religiosity and their belief in Allah is also an important determinant that explains their emotions and attitude towards tourism’s impact on their village and community.