1. DOES TOURISM KNOWLEDGE LEAD TO RESIDENTS’ EMPOWERMENT AND THEIR POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN PLANNING FOR TOURISM?
Dongoh (Eric) Joo
Kyle M. Woosnam, Ph.D.
Marianna Strzelecka, Ph.D.

2. INTRODUCTION Empowerment Empowerment in Tourism
A process where individuals secure greater access to or control over valued resources
Empowerment continuum: Knowledge → Organization → Action → Empowerment
Individuals’ competency and resilience against external threats
Community development: Public health, Catastrophe, Racial zoning, Urban regeneration
Empowerment in Tourism
Community based tourism, Sustainable tourism → Conceptual, Qualitative
Residents' Empowerment through Tourism Scale (RETS) (Boley & McGehee, 2014) → Quantitative
Knowledge as the source of empowerment in tourism
“… understanding tourists and tourism processes is the first stage to empowering a tourism community” (Cole, 2006, p. 1)
4/20/2018
GWTTRA 2018 (Seattle, WA)

3. INTRODUCTION Research Gap Research Hypotheses
Lack of quantitative analysis on the empowerment process
Does knowledge leads to participation and empowerment? Then how?
Little research on empowerment in developed nations
Research Hypotheses
H1: Knowledge of tourism → Political participation in planning for tourism.
H2: Political participation in planning for tourism → Empowerment.
4/20/2018
GWTTRA 2018 (Seattle, WA)

4. METHODS Study Site: Fredericksburg, Texas
90 mins from Austin and San Antonio
Cultural (Texas German architectures, Oktoberfest) & natural attractions (State park, trails)
Vineyards, wineries, & orchids
Tourism-dependent economy
$26 M in earning / 910 jobs
4/20/2018
GWTTRA 2018 (Seattle, WA)

5. METHODS Data collection: Survey using multi-stage cluster sampling
Duration: March - May, 2016
Survey methods: On-site self-administered at home or business
Sampling methods: Multi-stage cluster (Zones → Streets)
Response %: 58.1% (n = 376) (647 contacted, 482 distributed)
Community life, interaction with visitors, attitudes about tourism & tourism development, life in general, & demographic information
Knowledge of tourism: Single item on a 7-pt Likert scale
Political participation: Behavioral Empowerment Scale (Speer & Peterson, 2000) / Nine items
Empowerment: RETS (Boley & McGehee, 2014) / 12 items across 3 factors
Data analysis
Two step SEM in AMOS 23.0
4/20/2018
GWTTRA 2018 (Seattle, WA)

6. RESULTS Sample overview Demographic
Gender: Female (n = 229, 61.2%) > Male (n = 145, 38.8%)
Age: 54.3 years old
Education: Bachelor’s degree or higher (n = 226, 61.5%)
Income: $ 50K or higher (n = 220, 67.8%)
Length of residence: years
4/20/2018
GWTTRA 2018 (Seattle, WA)

7. RESULTS Model fit: CFI = 0.938, RMSEA = 0.084
H1 = Knowledge of tourism → Political participation in planning for tourism
Β = 0.325, p-value < 0.001, R2 = 0.106
H2 = Political participation → Empowerment
Psychological empowerment: Β = 0.237, p-value < 0.001, R2 = 0.056
Social empowerment: Β = 0.266, p-value < 0.001, R2 = 0.071
Political empowerment: Β = 0.341, p-value < 0.001, R2 = 0.116
Partial mediation of participation between knowledge and empowerment
Psychological empowerment: Β = 0.193, p-value < 0.001, R2 = 0.035
Social empowerment: Β = 0.248, p-value < 0.001, R2 = 0.059
Political empowerment: Β = 0.294, p-value < 0.001, R2 = 0.084
4/20/2018
GWTTRA 2018 (Seattle, WA)

8. CONCLUSION Implications Limitations and Suggestions Theoretical
Quantitative evidence for the links among knowledge, participation, and empowerment
Empowerment process continuum: Supports a link from knowledge through participation to empowerment
Practical
Practitioners should focus on educational means as much as participatory channels.
Limitations and Suggestions
Does participation comes before empowerment, or the vise-versa?
Is political participation a uni-dimensional construct?
What if we consider economic aspects?
4/20/2018
GWTTRA 2018 (Seattle, WA)

9. Thank you for listening