COMMUNITIES’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT OF TOURISM ON SOCIO-CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN AMHARA REGIONAL STATE

Abstract

The interface between tourism and sustainable development has been a field of research since the 1980s. Tourism is also a continuously growing sector with huge impact. By giving due emphasis to its positive impact, some scholars have brought to light its contribution to development in general and sustainable development in particular. Others consider tourism evil by considering only its negative impacts. This study intended to assess the perceptions of local communities' concerning the economic, social, environmental, and cultural impact of tourism and its contribution to sustainable development in Amhara Regional State. To address the above-stated objectives, a mixed-methods research design was applied. For qualitative research data collection instruments such as observation, key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and literature were used. For the quantitative design, descriptive survey was used and the household was used as unit of analysis. In analysing the data, a concurrent mixed research design was used. The result of the study indicated that tourism has both positive and negative social impacts on tourist destinations. The positive social impact of tourism was expressed in moderate terms and stated in terms of the expansion of hotels, road transportation, air transportation, electricity, internet, banking, and other infrastructure. The negative social impact was expressed in terms of unequal access to social services, the expansion of prostitution, and the persistence of theft. The positive cultural impact of tourism was expressed through the preservation and revitalization of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. As a negative impact, the finding indicates that tourism has contributed to the commoditization and erosion of culture and the production of inauthentic cultural products. The positive economic impact of tourism was identified in terms of creating direct and indirect employment, livelihood diversification, increasing government and non-governmental organisation revenues, and serving as a means for foreign exchange earnings. The negative economic impact of tourism was expressed in terms of creating seasonal dependency, inequality of benefits, and increasing the cost of living at the destination. The positive environmental impact of tourism was identified in terms of resource conservation and preservation. The community and the government developed an awareness of the presence of various flora and fauna as a means to attract tourism to their areas, which initiated the preservation of the ecosystem. The negative impact of tourism was identified as environmental exploitation, pollution, and displacement of local residents. Generally, both the findings of quantitative and qualitative data indicate that communities’ perceptions of the positive impact of tourism were expressed in moderate terms. And the findings of quantitative data indicate that the perceptions of local communities about the negative impact of tourism were expressed in a small amount, whereas the findings of qualitative data expressed it in a moderate amount. This implies that communities’ perceptions about the impact of tourism are not well developed. Thus, increasing awareness of local communities is essential for future sustainable tourism development.