Understanding Tourism Development: A Representational Approach

The article investigates hotel employees and postgraduate students’ representations of “tourism development”, using social representations theory. Data from a sample of eighty participants were collected on Chios Island, Greece. To reveal social representations a word association procedure was applied followed by a correspondence analysis. The analysis attempts to map the meanings associated with “tourism development” and to pinpoint the links between those meanings. Results highlight differences and similarities in the representation of “tourism development” according to individuals’ social membership, offering an interesting insight for employers and educators.