GENDER AND COMMUNITY TOURISM DEPENDENCE LEVEL

Rural Idaho residents were surveyed to determine their perceptions and attitudes about tourism. The towns represented three levels of tourism dependence: high, moderate, and low. The study goals were to assess if women and men had differing perceptions, and to determine if there were gender differences at different tourism dependence levels. Descriptive statistical analysis of individual items was followed with factor analysis, which showed no differences in gender perceptions. However, items analyzed separately exhibited some differences due to gender. While past research suggests women and men do not benefit equally from tourism, this and ether perception studies show few differences. Further exploration could include in-depth interviewing, longitudinal studies, or combined efforts.