The Attitudes of Xizang Residents Toward Tourism Development Based on Structural Equation Modeling

With the rapid development of tourism, it has not only injected new vitality into Tibet’s economy but also had a profound impact on the lifestyle, cultural heritage, and social environment of its residents. While the prosperity of tourism brings economic opportunities, it also poses challenges to Tibet’s unique culture and ecological environment. In this research, we focus on Lhasa and Nyingchi as the study areas, analyzing the impact of tourism development on the economy, social culture, and environment from the perspective of the local residents’ perception and the residents’ willingness to participate in tourism. By constructing a structural equation model of local residents in Tibet with a total of 37 items in five dimensions, including economic perception, socio-cultural perception, environmental perception, tourism development attitude, and participation intention, perception characteristics were described based on a total of 677 questionnaires in Nyingchi City and Lhasa City. The economic, socio-cultural, and environmental dimension indicators were determined in positive and negative ways, and the characteristics and development trends of tourism in Tibet were discussed in depth. Positive economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and environmental perceptions display a significant positive correlation with tourism participation intention, and negative economic perception has a negative correlation with tourism participation intention. At the same time, we found that economic perception had the most significant impact on the residents in Tibet, and we put forward corresponding suggestions according to the current problems facing current tourism development. This study is of great value for the development of the tourism industry in Tibet.