2018 Conference

Individual Paper Presentation

This paper provides results of empirical social science research studying resident perceptions of decision-making on Catalina Island, California. Off the coast of Southern California, Catalina Island has served as an apparent paradise for residents and visitors alike for over one hundred years. While residents are quick to acknowledge the natural beauty of their home, they qualify this with the changing priorities of island managers minimizing the ability of residents to contribute to decisions. Between the Catalina Island Company and Catalina Island Conservancy, one family owns and manages 99% of the island. While this family’s influence on the island is nothing new to residents, some expressed frustration with how priorities of current managers have minimized importance of maintaining happiness and resources of the resident island community in order to increase visitor revenue. Resident perspectives were collected summer and fall of 2017 through semi-structured interviews and online surveys. Accessing the full range of resident perceptions on their experiences with tourism was difficult, however, as the wide-reaching influence of island managers discouraged participation in this research. This paper evaluates how changing management has influenced resident perceptions of access to influence and resources, how and why the major landholder has created a fear to speak freely among residents, and what this means for residents in feeling like legitimate members of the Catalina Island community. The research concludes that residents’ experiences of legitimacy have devolved over time with changing management. Residents recommend that tourism development on the island moving forward engages a more collaborative planning process that incorporates local knowledge would improve experiences of legitimacy. These findings contribute understanding of power dynamics and politics in tourism management from the perspective of the residents rather than those in power.