Social exchange theory in sustainable tourism: a case study from Thailand

摘要

As multi-stakeholders are important in sustainable tourism development (STD), this study applies the social exchange theory (SET) to explain all stakeholders' perceptions towards STD's benefits and impacts on the local community. This paper is part of a larger study that offers better explanation of local leaders and policy-makers' perceptions towards STD as these stakeholders act as the critical initiators or facilitators in a selected tourism site in the local community. A total of ten local leaders and policymakers in Thailand was interviewed and the results were thematically analysed using Nvivo program. Although positive and negative perceptions are anticipated, other insightful results including fostering mutual benefits for all stakeholders in a sustainable way are presented. Sample size, data collection and research methodology are this paper's limitation. Further research should include more data from other stakeholders in order to understand the bigger picture of applying SET in STD.