Residents’ Perceptions of Small-scale Rural Events: A Dual Theory Approach

Abstract

Previous studies have focused on residents’ perceived impacts on the host communities (perceived impacts at community level), and neglected residents’ perceptions of event impacts on their personal lives (perceived impacts at individual level). Built upon social exchange theory and social representation theory, this study explored how local residents perceived the impacts of small-scale recurring events in a rural area. A total of 208 valid responses were obtained through a self-administrated online survey. Paired sample t-tests and independent samples t-tests were employed to test the hypotheses. The results showed that rural residents perceived greater economic, social and environmental impacts at the community level than the individual level. Residents’ reliance on tourism influenced their perceptions of the event impacts. Finally, implications for local government and event organizers were discussed.