Riga's urban environment in the context of tourism development: local residents' attitudes

Maija Rozite

Turiba University

Aija van der Steina

Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Latvia

Albert Postma

The European Tourism Futures Institute

DOI: 10.22364/fg.15.38

Keywords: urban environment, tourism impacts, local attitudes, critical collision

Abstract

Modern day tourism is developing in a variety of places and environments, including the urban environment. In addition to tourist attractions, a city’s psychological attraction and hospitality (social atmosphere, ambience, local inhabitant attitudes) play a significant role in the formation of the tourist experience. Therefore, the attitude of local inhabitants is significant for the development of urban tourism, which in turn is dependent on the changes brought about by tourism in the city environment. The present article analyses the results of three different studies conducted on the attitude of local inhabitants towards tourism development in Rīga during the period of 1998 - 2015. Regardless of the comparatively short period under discussion, the attitude of local inhabitants in Rīga has changed considerably. Although attitudes are generally very positive, several negative impact factors were identified in areas where a critical conflict exists between tourists and local inhabitants, which have the potential to lead to negative attitudes among local inhabitants. The expression of these attitudes towards tourists in turn could decrease the attractiveness of Rīga. City and tourism developers have to pay attention to sustainable tourism indicators such as physical and social carrying capacity and the limit of acceptable changes.