1. Introduction
The promotion and development of tourism are generally perceived as a large source of income, new jobs, and changes and improvements in community infrastructures. This fact constitutes a pole of attraction for other industries and, consequently, conditions their subsequent development. It can be affirmed that tourist activity has a global effect on the host populations [
1]. Tourism activity has not been left out in its relationship with sport, the latter being one of the areas of most remarkable growth in tourism at present. Sports tourism accounts for an essential part of the income in this sector at a global level. Sports tourism has been defined as a leisure trip whereby individuals temporarily leave their place of residence to participate in physical sporting activities, to view physical sporting activities, or to visit attractions associated with physical sporting activities [
2,
3,
4]. Different studies highlight that, in general, local residents express favorable attitudes towards tourism [
5,
6,
7]. A deeper understanding from the resident’s point of view is needed to enable the governments involved to plan more effectively for the future of tourism. Information on residents’ perceptions, as well as assessments of the impact of tourism activity and their support for tourism development, can be of great use in formulating tourism plans and policies, not only to gain residents’ support for tourism but also to implement sustainable development of the sector [
8].
Social exchange theory has been considered one of the most appropriate frameworks for understanding residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts [
9]. One of the advantages of using social exchange theory is that it can explain both positive and negative perceptions, as well as examine residents’ relationships at both the individual and collective levels [
10]. Hence, social exchange theory is considered as an important sociological conceptual approach to the study of tourism–community relations, and is concerned with understanding the exchange of resources between the two parties in a situation of interaction, where the objects offered for exchange have value and are measurable and there is a mutual management of rewards and costs between the actors [
4,
11].
The reasons why the field of sports tourism has not progressed as quickly as expected may be due to the fact that the vast majority of contributions have focused on general theories rather than theories specific to sports tourism [
2,
3]. In relation to tourism, there is a recognized need for a multidimensional framework for sport tourism research, a framework that recognizes time, space, and sport as an activity [
12]. Commonly, contributions on the impacts associated with sport tourism have been analyzed from a multidimensional perspective, related to aspects encompassed within the different categories described in the literature in reference to residents’ perceptions [
13].
As indicated by [
4,
14,
15], the impacts associated with tourism have been investigated, generally from an economic and environmental perspective. The socio-cultural impacts associated with this activity have also been frequently investigated. Some studies have delved into the impacts associated with residents’ perceptions of the impact of tourism on the community with multidimensional scales [
16,
17] or have developed theoretical frameworks for the evaluation of this type of impacts on the community [
4,
11].
For their part, Ref. [
18] classify these impacts into economic, environmental, and social. The authors of [
15], in their study on the impacts received by residents in India-Naples (USA), revealed after an exploratory factor analysis that the impacts associated with tourism, sports explicitly tourism, can be structured into four factors: social benefits, environmental benefits, economic benefits, and generally negative impacts.
The economic impacts associated with sport tourism have had a notable impact on the relationship between these elements [
10,
19,
20], affecting the communities that develop this type of activity. Likewise, tourism is commonly associated with new employment opportunities for local residents [
21,
22], generating an important source of income [
23] as well as the creation of business opportunities in the locality [
24]. These circumstances derive from the empowerment of the local economy [
25]. Similarly, the impacts of tourism on the locality translate into an improvement of infrastructure and facilities [
26], which translates into an increase in the quality of life of the resident inhabitants [
27,
28]. At the same time, there are negative impacts associated with the development of tourism, such as an increase in the cost of living [
29,
30,
31], which in turn can affect temporary employment and unemployment [
29], together with an increase in price inflation [
32].
The social impact on the community associated with sports tourism is associated with changes in moral and social norms and values [
2,
33,
34]. Social impacts are commonly associated with a positive influence on the services offered by the community to its inhabitants [
23,
35], allowing the creation of new leisure opportunities [
36,
37]. On the other hand, social impacts can also be associated with other more negative events, such as the production of urban congestion [
30,
38], increased public insecurity [
25,
26], overcrowding in certain localities [
38,
39,
40] or public facilities [
25,
32], or environmental and noise pollution [
41].
Tourism researchers are often interested in variables that are not easily observed and measured in reality. Consequently, researchers rely on indicators to measure the variables of interest to them. However, the indicators used in tourism research are only an approximation of reality. They not only reflect the latent variable they are intended to measure but also contain measurement errors. That is why all indicators in the model contain an element of error, so measuring this threatens the validity of the research findings, particularly when the concepts used by the researcher are abstract to measure [
7] (e.g., impacts associated with active-sport tourism). Measurement errors artificially attenuate the estimate of the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable and affect the entire model.
The tourism sector, especially in the active sports sector, whose activities occur in nature, has a great responsibility in its relationship with the environment. Sometimes, these activities can be aggressive with natural resources if they are not carried out in the right places and with the necessary measures to ensure that they do not harm the environment [
42]. According to [
43], it must be designed and managed sustainably for successful tourism development to occur. Regarding the environmental impacts associated with tourism development, several studies indicate that these have a reinforcing effect on preserving natural resources and improving different aspects associated with the environment [
29,
35]. On the other hand, other studies point to the generation of tourism-related pollution [
10,
30,
35] or a decrease in the available natural habitat [
44]. As [
43] points out, the importance of tourism within the framework of sustainability, despite the intensification of negative impacts, could bring quality to the exchange between residents and tourists if approached within appropriate margins, preserving and maintaining the environment and the culture of the localities and the economic and social well-being of the residents. The conservation of the environment of nature at the municipal level, regarding tourism planning also towards sustainable management of the environment, is sometimes confronted with the desire of the agents associated with tourism activity to operate only following the principles of economic development [
45].
For this reason, it is essential not only to raise awareness among entrepreneurs of the principles of environmental sustainability but also to encourage governments to act by regulating these activities with actions that are less and less harmful to the natural environment in which they take place [
17,
46]. Improving innovation and environmental performance in the tourism sector is essential, and tourism companies often lead to new approaches. However, legislation is required, as self-regulation and ecological certification are ineffective [
46,
47]. Despite this uncertainty, it is clear that traditional tourism is still far from being considered sustainable, so it is necessary to implement policies that support the sustainable development of the destination [
17,
48,
49].
Understanding local residents’ support for tourism development is essential for local governments, policy makers, and businesses. The success and sustainability of any activity being developed depend on local policymakers’ support [
50,
51,
52]. This is why researchers have explored the factors that could influence these perceived impacts and subsequent support for development [
37]. Within a specific setting, Ref. [
20,
53] noted that the support and involvement of local residents are crucial for the sustainable development of the tourism industry. Consequently, residents perceive the positive effects of tourism more strongly than the negative ones, which helps explain their support for tourism development. Thus, gaining residents’ support could emerge as a key task for managers responsible for tourism planning and development [
35]. Regarding residents’ perceptions, several authors [
17,
53,
54] found that critical personal development is controlled for residents with positive perceptions of tourism development, who also support specific tourism development policies. This support can be enhanced by improving the standard of living and safety of residents and tourists, benefiting local residents economically, and encouraging a variety of cultural activities through the development of a range of tourism projects, such as seasonal cultural and folkloric events, inclusive sports and outdoor recreational facilities and activities, as well as meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions [
14,
27,
30,
39]. Additionally, economic impacts remain an essential factor in supporting development while perceived costs significantly and negatively influence support for tourism development [
10,
53]. Therefore, there is a need for tourism planners to tailor their decisions to the needs of the community [
43]. This will increase community support, which is an essential component for the success of sport tourism at the destination [
39,
53,
54].
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to know the perceptions of residents on sports tourism developed on the island of Gran Canaria. In addition, it analyzes their predisposition to support the development of the sector. Specifically, this study evaluates the perception of citizens in five dimensions: social impact, cultural impact, environmental impact, and impact on local policies.
4. Discussion
The authors of [
51] state that residents should contribute with their participation in the different levels of planning, development, and implementation of tourism activities to help and extend their hospitality to tourists. All this should be undertaken during the exchange produced in the process of coexistence [
31].
Social exchange theory has frequently been used to understand residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts [
10,
14,
48]. This research follows this theory to interpret the results obtained. As stated in the literature [
64], social exchange theory allows explaining both positive and negative perceptions [
10,
31]. In our research, it is clear that the perceptions of the residents of Gran Canaria are also that way.
Concerning the impacts of sports tourism on the locality, Ref. [
11] emphasizes that, firstly, sport tourism improves and differentiates the tourism offer of a locality or area. These activities can be carried out in coastal and inland areas, thus contributing to promoting this type of alternative tourism. Likewise, concerning those activities that are usually carried out in a natural environment, a series of factors must be taken into account: positive, in terms of the promotion of tourism, economic activity, and local development in the area, or an alternative and attractive offer to the user, but also harmful, such as the inevitable degradation of the environment and possible overcrowding of areas that do not have the necessary infrastructure [
23,
41]. There is a need for collaboration between public institutions and private companies when investing, financing, and promoting this type of action, without forgetting the link with culture and even with the cultural heritage of the locality [
18].
Frequently, most research has focused on observations of tourism in general, without focusing on the field of sports tourism [
2,
47]. Thus, our work focused its observation on the specific field of sports tourism. Thus, this is perceived from a multidimensional perspective in a similar way to previous research [
12,
13]. In this way, economic, social, cultural, environmental, and political–administrative impacts exert an effect on support, these being a tool with enormous potential to take advantage of tourism as part of a community development strategy [
23]. Some studies have delved into the impacts associated with residents’ perceptions of the impact of tourism on the community with multidimensional scales [
11,
16] or have developed theoretical frameworks for the evaluation of this type of community impacts [
9,
12].
In general terms, the residents of Gran Canaria consider that sports tourism produces more benefits than detriments in the locality. The positive perception that the local population has of the impacts that tourism causes or could cause in the locality leads to a favorable attitude towards more significant tourism development oriented towards the sports sector. This result coincides with that obtained by various studies [
43,
47] on the perceptions and attitudes of residents regarding the impact of tourism. These studies show that residents are clearly in favor of more remarkable tourism development because they consider it beneficial; however, they are consistent with the negative impacts it causes.
The literature suggests a positive relationship between factors associated with perceived positive impacts and residents’ support for tourism development. These reflect the standard view of tourism as a tool for economic prosperity and community development. They are consistent with the findings of [
65], which indicate that, when residents have a better perception of positive social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts, they support tourism development. For their part, Ref. [
66] note in their study that, in the United States, residents’ perceptions of positive socio-cultural and economic impacts positively affect support for tourism development. The authors of [
67] point out that the positive impacts derived from tourism development will directly impact the economy (increased employment opportunities; improved investment, more development, and better infrastructure; and improved income and standard of living).
In addition, Ref. [
19] found that perceived positive social and economic impacts directly relate to residents’ support for tourism development on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. In the present work, economic, cultural, and political–administrative impacts were positively related to support for sports tourism development in the community.
In turn, and similar to the results obtained in the analysis of residents’ perceptions in Gran Canaria, Ref. [
68] indicate that residents’ negative perceptions of tourism and environmental impacts negatively influence support for tourism development. This is also consistent with the findings of [
66,
69] who found a negative relationship between residents’ perceptions of the negative impacts of tourism and support for tourism development. On the contrary, Ref. [
32] indicates that, even when residents recognize the negative impacts of tourism, they continue to support tourism development, a case similar to that of the residents of Gran Canaria. Despite recognizing the negative impacts associated with the activity in question, the latter highly value the development of sport tourism.
Similar to residents’ perceptions in Gran Canaria, Ref. [
68] suggest that there is no relationship between residents’ perceptions of the negative social impacts of tourism and support for tourism development. Likewise, although residents recognize the negative social impacts of tourism, they support tourism development in Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, Ref. [
66] reported that negative socio-cultural impacts negatively affect support for tourism development. However, the current study found no relationship between negative social impacts and support for tourism development, and in our work, cultural impacts were positively rated.
The same line of our work [
70] revealed significant impacts of two variables (environmental and economic impacts) on the support for tourism development. In contrast, the social impacts variable has no significant impact on it. Likewise, Ref. [
53] found no relationship between negative social impacts and residents’ support for tourism development. A possible explanation is that some residents ignore social costs if they expect economic benefits, especially during times of economic crisis [
71]. Since residents emphasize the benefits of tourism development to the community, they may overestimate the positive economic impacts of tourism and underestimate the negative social impacts.
As pointed out by [
72], there are different degrees of perception among the impacts. Likewise, the effects that residents’ perceptions could have on the support for tourism development in the community would vary, with these effects being more potent in the positive impacts and smaller in the negative impacts [
73,
74].
In this work, political–administrative impacts are highlighted as the factor that most influences residents’ support for the development of sport tourism. Some studies suggest that this factor is a determining factor [
50]. The government is considered the main decision-maker during the organization and management processes of the activity [
75], in the same way, that it controls the actions developed in the sector by public and private organizations [
55].
They point out [
68] that, given that the steps for bidding and planning have a minimal component of citizen participation, the level of trust and perception that residents may have towards those responsible for the organization and management of the sector plays a significant role. Thus, studies such as the one by [
36] indicate that the organizations in charge of the management and development of tourism activity need to take advantage of this relationship between residents and institutions, designing programs where locals can feel integrated into leisure activities with tourists.
In this paper, political–administrative impacts are highlighted as the factor that exerts the greatest force on residents’ support for active-sport tourism development. Some studies suggest that this factor is determinant [
7,
51]. The government is considered to be the main decision-maker during the processes of organization and management of the activity [
75] in the same way that it controls the actions developed in the sector by agencies, whether public or private [
53].
They point out [
52] that, given that the steps for bidding and planning have a minimal component of citizen participation, the level of trust and perception that residents may have towards those responsible for the organization and management of the sector, plays a significant role. In this way, studies such as the one elaborated by [
36] point out that the organizations in charge of the management and development of tourism activity need to take advantage of this relationship between residents and institutions, designing programs where locals can feel integrated in leisure activities together with tourists.
Following political–administrative impacts, residents in Gran Canaria perceive cultural and economic impacts as influential in supporting the development of sport tourism in the community. Some studies have shown that residents’ perceptions tend to be positive concerning the economic impacts associated with the sector [
20,
71], while socio-cultural and environmental aspects have a negative tendency [
18,
21,
54].
As far as Gran Canaria is concerned, residents differentiate social impacts from cultural impacts, similar to other studies [
54,
71]. Indeed, it can be observed that cultural impacts have a positive trend while social impacts have a negative trend. In this sense, in situations where the community has fully integrated tourism activity, some of the negative impacts can be avoided [
64]. In the specific case of Gran Canaria, the social impacts are not significant in supporting the development of sports tourism in the community, which could be a possible explanation for their dissociation from the cultural impacts, as well as the indifference of residents to the social impacts associated with the tourism-sports activity.
Regarding the environmental impacts associated with tourism and sports activities, residents of Gran Canaria significantly perceive their relationship with support for developing the activity on the island. According to [
29], residents in the Balear Islands highlight environmental impacts as a common denominator among the community. Likewise, the authors argue that, depending on the area of residence, citizens could vary this type of perceptions, with residents in rural areas being more perceptive about environmental impacts than those residing in urban or eminently tourist areas, whose perception will be inclined towards other types of impacts, such as the economic impacts associated with the activity. These same authors also point out that, depending on the type of tourism analyzed, different effects on the environment and residents’ perceptions of this factor may arise.
In general, most research has not reached a consensus as to what factors affect residents’ perceptions and what variables determine these perceptions in the community [
5]. This fact can be attributed to the characteristics of each population, each of which has its particularities so that residents’ perceptions vary [
39]. The development of this study complements the findings in the field of sport management, more specifically in the analysis of social impact. As noted in the literature [
39], the difficulty of reaching consensus in the analysis of perceptions of social impacts on the community is complex, since these can vary over time and even in the period where the study is conducted.
The study has been elaborated focusing on an everlasting activity in the community, such as tourism. For this reason, it would be interesting to check the background and the main consequences of decision-making related to the sport tourism sector by the agents in charge of its organization and management. Finally, the results obtained in this study are useful for communities where tourism is fully developed, this being their main economic sector. Furthermore, it can be extrapolated to many tourist areas with similar characteristics to those described above. As a limitation, it should be considered to separate the positive and negative impacts associated with residents. In this work, it can be observed how there is a negative orientation in some of the observed variables (social impacts and environmental impacts), while the rest of the variables are attributed to positive impacts. This fact could be due to the specificity of the study carried out, since the survey was developed with the aim of measuring the perceptions associated with sports tourism impacts. In future research, it could be interesting to group these dimensions into general positive or negative impacts, as developed in some studies on the impacts of tourism. Thus, it would be possible to check how they group other types of second-order indicators within the structural equation model. This would make it possible to explain residents’ perception of the impacts of sports tourism, contributing to expanding the information and checking which other factors make a greater contribution to explaining the impacts associated with tourism activity.