Resumen de Retirees’ Attitudes Toward Tourism: Implications for Sustainable Development

Bonnie S Martin, Francis McGutre, Lawrence Allen

• Growth machine theory posits that individuals who do not receive benefits from the tourism industry will not support its expansion. Therefore, retirees who are not economically dependent on the tourism industry may be opposed to an increase in tourism activity. The purpose of this study was to identify the attitudes toward tourism development of retirees in a resort community. A telephone survey of 100 retirees in Hilton Head, SC was conducted using the Tourism Impact Attitude Scale (TIAS) to ascertain attitudes of retirees. Data analysis, including factor analysis, found that four dimensions described retirees’ attitudes. These were: Increased Development, Negative Impacts, Positive Impacts, and Tourism Support. It was found that retirees do not support continued growth and strongly agreed that tourism had negative impacts, supporting growth machine theory. Implications of this finding for sustainable tourism development are discussed.