Self-Serving Bias in Visitors' Perceptions of the Impacts of Tourism (Reprint) (Report‪)‬

Introduction The implications of tourism activity at a destination have been a topic of study for decades (Ap, 1992; Buffer, 1974; Dogan, 1989; Hammitt & Cole; 1998, Pearce, 1989). Through such research, the positive and negative impacts of tourism across environmental, socio-cultural, and economic domains have been well documented (Allen, Patrick, Perdue, & Kelselback 1988; Farrell, Hall, & White, 2001; Ibitayo & Virden, 1996; Mathieson & Wall, 1982; Roggenbuck, Williams, & Watson, 1993), and frequently derived from residents' perceptions (Ap, 1990; Lankford & Howard, 1994; Liu, Sheldon, & Var, 1987; Purdue, Long, & Allen, 1987; Sheldon & Var, 1984). Research examining visitors' perceptions of the impacts of tourism has been limited but is growing. Existing studies have typically examined the type of impacts perceived by visitors and the effect the impact has on visitors' experiences (Farrell et al.; Hillery, Nancarrow, Griffin, & Syme, 2001; MacKay & Campbell, 2004; Priskin, 2003). Unfortunately, there is virtually no research that considers how visitors perceive their own contribution to the impacts that result from tourism (Alessa, Bennett, & Klinsky, 2003). While examining factors that affect depreciative behaviors in coastal areas, Alessa et al. found that personal attribution of depreciative behavior had a significant effect on actual depreciative behavior. Specifically, the more visitors attributed depreciative behavior to themselves the fewer depreciative behaviors they exhibited. These results suggest that research examining visitors' attribution of impacts is an essential perspective needed to understand visitor behavior and to inform decisions about managing visitors and their related impacts.