Elsevier

Tourism Management

Volume 77, April 2020, 104014
Tourism Management

Road and transport infrastructure development and community support for tourism: The role of perceived benefits, and community satisfaction

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104014Get rights and content

Highlights

  • CPEC road and infrastructure development is found to be positively related to community satisfaction and tourism benefits.

  • CPEC road and infrastructure development shows an insignificant relationship with perceived environmental impact.

  • Environmental impact did not mediate link between CPEC road and infrastructure development and community support for tourism.

  • Community satisfaction mediate the link between CPEC road and infrastructure development and community support for tourism.

  • Tourism benefits mediate the link between CPEC road and infrastructure development and community support for tourism.

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of road and transportation infrastructure on community support for tourism in the context of the China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion-dollar mega project. Utilizing social exchange theory, the authors examined a positive relationship between perceived impact of road and transport infrastructure development and local community support for tourism through perceived environmental impact, perceived tourism benefits, and perceived community satisfaction. The data was collected through an online survey from 350 people living along the CPEC route in Pakistan. Results revealed that perceived impact of CPEC road and transport infrastructure is positively related to community support for tourism, and perceived tourism benefits and community satisfaction play a mediating role in this relationship. Findings of this study not only contribute to the tourism literature, but also provide significant implications for officials to develop policies for promoting tourism development.

Introduction

Road and transportation infrastructure plays an important role in tourism industry development (Khadaroo & Seetanah, 2007; Masson & Petiot, 2009). Road and transport infrastructure provides easy access to tourism destinations and increases business activities in the region that have a positive effect on the local community's standard of living. Scholars have suggested that road and transport infrastructure not only plays a vital role in enhancing existing tourism activities, it also promotes the development of new tourism sites in the region (Currie & Falconer, 2014; Musa & Ndawayo, 2011; Virkar & Mallya, 2018). A recent study suggested that road and transport infrastructure in a country attracts tourists and can promote tourism destinations (Virkar & Mallya, 2018). Indeed, past research has suggested a positive relationship between road infrastructure and tourist activities (Khadaroo & Seetanah, 2007; Liu & Shi, 2017), which increases the flow of tourism development (Kanwal, Pitafi, Pitafi, et al., 2019; Nazneen, Xu, & Din, 2019). For example, Kurihara and Wu (2016) and Li, Yang, and Cui (2019) found that high-speed train service has significantly increased the volume of tourism in Japan and China, as rapid mass transport facilitates the movement of individuals across tourist destinations. Similarly, Virkar and Mallya (2018) highlighted several parameters related to tourist satisfaction, including transportation infrastructure and service quality, and argued that transport infrastructure is a significant predictor for tourism development. Specifically, road and transport infrastructure eases the travel of tourists and facilitates movement within destinations (Lohmann & Duval, 2011).

With the development of CPEC, it is expected that northern areas of Pakistan, particularly the Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces, will become tourism hubs in the country. These areas consist of several tourism sites, including the world's highest mountain range (Himalaya and Hindukush), with glaciers, resorts, lakes, and other beautiful natural locations that may attract tourists from around the world. Despite these exquisite tourism sites, the areas are undeveloped and currently lack a good road and transportation infrastructure. Roads constructed in the CPEC project will pass through these areas and are expected to attract a high number of international tourists (Today, 2016). The arrival of a great number of tourists is likely to promote tourism activities in these areas, including the construction of hotels, restaurants, and related businesses. Such activities may have a significant impact on the local residents living in these areas. We, therefore, assume that the perceived impact of road and transportation infrastructure development may be related to local residents' support of tourism in the area.

Research suggests that road and transport infrastructure development generates employment opportunities, enhances business activities, and brings several other benefits for the local community (Kanwal, Pitafi, Rasheed, Pitafi, & Iqbal, 2019e; Park, Nunkoo, & Yoon, 2015; Wang & Pfister, 2008). Road and transport infrastructure development can, therefore, create positive perceptions in the local community around the benefits of tourism, which may subsequently generate positive support in the local community for tourism in the area. The benefits associated with road and transport infrastructure development may further result in community satisfaction. Conversely, the development of road and transport infrastructure may generate a negative environmental impact, as traffic congestion, overcrowding, noise, air pollution, and damage to the natural beauty are possible negative consequences of road and transport infrastructure development (Kanwal, Pitafi, Rasheed, et al., 2019; Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2011a; Park et al., 2015). A perceived negative environmental impact can, therefore, be negatively related to community support of tourism development.

Past research has investigated the relationship between infrastructure development and local residents’ support using different mechanisms, including community attachment, place attachment, and sense of community (Andereck & Vogt, 2000; Gursoy, Chi, & Dyer, 2010; Gursoy, Jurowski, & Uysal, 2002; McGehee & Andereck, 2004). Surprisingly, road and transport infrastructure development and its relationship with community support for tourism have been given less attention (Nazneen et al., 2019). Addressing this important research gap, the objective of the current study is twofold; (i) to investigate the relationship between road and transport infrastructure development and community support for tourism, and (ii) to explore the underlying mechanisms in this relationship through different paths. This study, therefore, makes substantial contributions in tourism literature. For instance, this study empirically investigates the relationship between road and transport infrastructure development and local community support for tourism in the context of CPEC. Second, this study explores the dual paths (positive and negative) through which road and transport infrastructure development may be related to community support for tourism. Third, this study carries several important implications for policymakers regarding tourism development in the areas of CPEC. Fig. 1 explains our theoretical model.

The remainder of the study proceeds as follows. Section two briefly elaborates the theoretical background, including a literature review of existing research and social exchange theory. Based on previous literature, the authors develop the hypotheses of the study. The third section describes the research method. Section four reports different analysis techniques and results, and the last section includes discussion, implications, and limitations of the study.

Section snippets

Social exchange theory

Social exchange theory (SET) is widely used in research for investigating local community benefits, attitudes, and support towards development (Ali et al., 2018; Ap, 1992; Kanwal, Chong, & Pitafi, 2019b; Kanwal, Pitafi, Rasheed, et al., 2019; Yoon, Gursoy, & Chen, 2001). Specifically, SET provides a conceptual framework for understanding the social exchange process among individuals and groups. Applying SET, recent research has explored the impact of CPEC development on the local community in

Participants and procedure

The current study was conducted in the Gilgit Baltistan and KPK provinces of Pakistan. There are several reasons for conducting the survey in these areas. For instance, Gilgit Baltistan is the starting point of the CPEC route that connects Khunjerab, at the Pakistan-China border, to the Gwadar port in the Baluchistan province of Pakistan. The Gilgit Baltistan and KPK provinces from where the CPEC road and train networks will pass feature some of the world's most beautiful tourism locations,

Common method variance (CMV)

Research suggests that there are chances of the occurrence of common method variance (CMV) when the data related to independent and dependent variables are collected at the same time and from the same source (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Podsakoff, 2012). As CMV can negatively affect the findings of research in social sciences, it is important to address this issue. Scholars have suggested different techniques to assess the issue of CMV in a data set. For example, Harman's single factor test is

Discussion

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of CPEC road and transportation infrastructure development on support for tourism in Pakistan. Pakistan's northern areas, including the KPK and Gilgit Baltistan provinces, are full of natural beauty with the world's highest mountains, lakes, and glaciers. Due to poor road and transportation infrastructure development, tourism activities have been limited in these areas in past. With the development of CPEC, a multi-billion dollar road

Conclusion

The results of the present study shed light on the perceptions of local Pakistani residents related to tourism as a result of CPEC road and transport infrastructure development. The survey has shown that the local community has positive perceptions and is ready to provide support for tourism in Pakistan in the context of CPEC. In addition, this study explains the mediating mechanisms in the form of community satisfaction and perceived tourism benefits in the relationship between CPEC road and

Author contribution

Shamsa Kanwal is a first author of this manuscript. She conceived the initial idea,conducted the literature review, and proposed research design. Muhammad Imran Rasheed, Muhammad Imran Rasheed helped to finalize the research model and design for this study. He edited the initial draft and has particualrly written the introduction and discussion sections. Abdul Hameed Pitafi, Abdul Hameed Pitafi is the corresponding author, he reviewed the final draft and contributed in analyses of data and

Declaration of competing interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgment

We are thankful to the editor and anonymous reviewers for providing us valuable insights to improve this manuscript. .The first author (Shamsa Kanwal) is grateful to the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) authorities for the scholarship award and financial support during master's research studies at the University of Science and Technology of China. The work described in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC: 71531008, 71521001, 71490720).

Shamsa Kanwal received Master degree in management science specialization (Public Administration) from University of Science and Technology, Hefei, China. She has received a Bachelor of Science (Math), degree from Sindh University, Jamshoro, Pakistan. Her research interests include tourism and society, social media, social networking, and policy issues in developing countries. She has published her findings in journals such as Technology in Society, The Social Science Journal, and Technology

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    Shamsa Kanwal received Master degree in management science specialization (Public Administration) from University of Science and Technology, Hefei, China. She has received a Bachelor of Science (Math), degree from Sindh University, Jamshoro, Pakistan. Her research interests include tourism and society, social media, social networking, and policy issues in developing countries. She has published her findings in journals such as Technology in Society, The Social Science Journal, and Technology Analysis & Strategic Management.

    Dr. Muhammad Imran Rasheed is a Ph.D at School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China. Dr. Rasheed has published his research in several journals including waste management, personnel review, Ethics and behavior, and information systems management. His current focus of research is in the field of tourism and hospitality, organizational behavior, and information systems and employees.

    Dr. Abdul Hameed Pitafi is currently doing post doctorate in Hefei University of Technology China. He got Ph.D degree specialization in Information System from the University of Science and Technology of China. He completed his Bachelor of Engineering (Computer System) from Quaid-Awam University of Science and Technology Nawabshah. He received his Master of Science degree in Networks and Telecommunication from Mohammed Ali Jinnah University Karachi. He has more than 15 years of teaching experience. His current focus of research is in tourism and society, information technology and people, and information systems and employees. He has published over 20 publications in SSCI and peer-reviewed journals.

    Adnan Pitafi: Dr. Adnan Pitafi, is working as an Assistant Professor of Entrepeneurship, at the Mehran University Instiute of Science, Technology and Development (MUISTD). He has a doctoral degree from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Management Sciences and his research focus is Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Technopreneurship, Social Media, and Technology Adoption Models.

    Minglun Ren is a director and Professor of school of management, at the Hefei University of Technology China. He has published several research papers in national and international research Journals. Professor Minglun Ren was selected into the new century Excellent Talent Support Program of the Ministry of Education in 2011.

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