A Structural Model of Residents' Sense of Community in Rural Tourism Destinations and Its Application: A Case Study of Anji County in Zhejiang Province

Sense of community is an important theme within studies on community psychology and tourism geography.It is defined as the psychological feelings attained by local residents as a result of interaction between local community residents and the collective population.A focus on residents' of community in tourism destination research not only places an emphasis on people,but is also an important premise of sustainable rural tourism.However,there is little research on a of community within the tourism arena at present.We analyzed a large amount of relevant literature and reviewed the relationship between a of community and its related result variables.We then constructed a model on Sense of Community within Rural Tourism Destinations(SCRTD).A case study was undertaken in Anji County in Zhejiang Province.Data were collected through 558 survey questionnaires examining place attachment,perception of tourism impacts,community involvement,resident satisfaction and personal benefits gained from tourism.By using Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA) methods,we explored five facets of of community within rural tourism destinations.We found that of community has five main dimensions: place attachment,the of tourism impacts,community involvement,resident satisfaction and the personal benefits gained through tourism.The of community in rural tourism destinations was significantly positively affected by place attachment,perception of tourism impacts,community involvement,resident satisfaction and personal benefits from tourism.Four of the five path coefficients were between 0.508 and 0.728,and their significance probabilities were all lower than 0.001.The path coefficient for sense of community-tourism perception was 0.13,and its significance probability was also lower than 0.001.Therefore,all five hypotheses in the conceptual model were supported:(1) Sense of community had a significant positive impact on place attachment.Its path coefficient was 0.508(t-value = 5.936),thus hypothesis one was verified.(2) Sense of community had a significant positive effect on the of tourism impact.Its path coefficient was 0.13(t-value = 9.089),thus hypothesis two was also verified.(3) Hypotheses three to five reflected the impacts of of community on community involvement,resident satisfaction and the personal benefits gained from tourism.Their path coefficients were 0.728(t-value = 8.807),0.697(t-value = 9.215),and 0.594(t-value = 8.686) respectively.Hence the proposed structural model of of community in rural tourism destinations is feasible.This broadens the research scope of of community.Fostering a of community in rural tourism destinations can help to improve the degree of community involvement,to increase the residents' perceived positive tourism impacts,to reduce perceived negative tourism impacts,and to promote residents' active support for local tourism development.All of these are conducive to the promotion of scientific humanistic management in rural tourism destinations.