Tourism Development As a Resident-Tourist Exchange Process: an Economic Theoretic Interpretation

Many attemps have been made to theoretically base research in tourism development. However, a discernible bias towards residents’ perceptions exists. Since tourism involves the meeting of (at least) two populations, residents’ perception ha to be analysed as part of an exchange process where hosts and guests are both considered. This paper presents and partially develops the Exchange Economic Model implemented by Bimonte and Punzo (Tour Manage 55:199–208, 2016) to investigate the possible scenarios and dynamics that tourism development may imply. The theoretical framework takes an economic perspective and assumes that agents’ preferences are endogenous. This means that the population’s interactions and experiences influence guests’ and/or hosts’ attitudes and opinions, which may in turn cause structural changes in individuals’ preferences. As a consequence, populations may split and inter- and/or intra-community conflict may arise that affects individual quality of life (QOL). The paper addresses this issue theoretically, suggesting some possible solutions.