Residents' perception of tourism development in Colombo, Sri Lanka: A theory of planned behaviour approach : Residents' perception, tourism development, the theory of planned behaviour, place attachment

Sammanfattning

Tourism has become an important sector for urban development in many cities around the world. It contributes to economic growth by creating jobs, attracting investment, and supporting local businesses. However, the success of tourism development does not only depend on tourists and investors but also on local residents. Their attitudes and support are important because they are directly affected by tourism activities. Although many studies have examined residents’ perceptions of tourism in different countries, there is still limited research in South Asian urban contexts, especially in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where tourism has grown considerably in recent years. This study aims to explore how residents in Colombo perceive tourism development and factors that influence their willingness to support it. The research is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), focusing on attitudes toward tourism, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and place attachment. A quantitative research approach was used, and data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed via WhatsApp among residents of Colombo. In total, 49 valid responses were received. The collected data were analysed using SPSS, including descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between the variables and residents’ intentions to support tourism development. The findings indicate that residents generally hold favourable views toward tourism development, with behavioural intention recording the highest mean score. Correlation analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and place attachment with behavioural intention. However, attitude toward tourism development did not demonstrate a significant relationship with intention. Regression analysis further identified place attachment as the single most influential predictor of residents' intentions to support tourism, with a beta value of 0.609, explaining 51.8% of the variance in the model alongside the other constructs. These results suggest that residents' emotional and identity-based connection to Colombo surpasses rational cost-benefit evaluations in motivating tourism support. The study contributes to the limited body of TPB-based empirical research on urban tourism in Sri Lanka and underscores the importance of incorporating community identity and belonging into tourism planning. Practical 4recommendations are offered for policymakers and tourism planners seeking to foster inclusive, community-sensitive tourism development in Colombo.