Design Dilemma between Urban Tourism and Quality of Life: Assessment of Livability Barriers in Different Contexts

Urban tourism has been instrumental in the global economic revival, particularly following the easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. However, tourism is not neutral with respect to local quality of life, and little attention is given to the specific barriers that tourism presents to urban livability. This study aims to fill this research gap by identifying the most significant barriers to livability in tourist cities using livability satisfaction as the measure of urban livability. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Guilin, China, two international tourist cities with different contexts, were used as the study areas. This study used a questionnaire survey with a combination of probability sampling and quota sampling to obtain valid data from 793 respondents, including tourists and locals, of whom 395 were from Kuala Lumpur and 398 were from Guilin. The collected data were analyzed using a dual-stage PLS-SEM–ANN approach. The results indicated that economic burden, government, tourism ecology, infrastructure, and environmental quality barriers significantly influence livability satisfaction, with economic burden and tourist ecology barriers emerging as paramount concerns in both cities. Important differences between the two cities were also observed. Kuala Lumpur is more strongly impacted by environmental quality barriers, while infrastructure barriers more severely impact Guilin. The findings revealed that government leadership, equitable distribution of tourism benefits, and context-sensitive policy adjustment procedures are critical to balancing tourism development with the enhancement of urban livability. This study contributes to the urban livability and tourism literature through empirical quantification of livability barriers within urban tourism contexts. The study findings provide certain implications for stakeholders involved in the development and maintenance of tourist cities.