Effects of Tourism on Subjective Dimensions of Quality of Life: The Case of Tourist Destination Villages of Marvdasht County

Abstract

This research aimed at investigating the impacts of tourism on residents' subjective quality of life in tourist destinations of Marvdasht County, Iran. The statistical population included 170 heads of households living in the tourist destination villages of Marvdasht County, selected by the simple randomization method and based on Cochran’s formula. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. Data were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis and Morris’s model. The results of factor analysis showed that the components, including cost, local livelihood, and asset, accounted for 61.27, 58.77, and 58.06 percent of the total variance in the economic dimension of subjective quality of life, respectively. Social dimension components (including local community and nutrition and health) also captured 66.17 and 60.48 percent, and environmental dimension components (including environmental sustainability and physical dimensions) captured 61.28 and 67.87 percent of the total variance in residents subjective quality of life, respectively. According to the findings, the level of subjective quality of life was medium (with a coefficient of 0.55) based on the Morris method. While the economic (with a coefficient of 0.53) and environmental (with a coefficient of 0.54) dimensions of subjective quality of life were at the medium level, the social dimensions of subjective quality of life (with a coefficient of 0.6) were at the favourable level. Therefore, the highest score of the subjective quality of life in the tourist destination villages was related to the social index. These findings can be used to identify previous policy strategies and design future planning policies.