Abstract
The study’s purpose is to examine how tourism affects the residents’ satisfaction with the quality of life in the Vangvieng Tourist Site. The proposed model projected that overall life satisfaction is influenced by five particular life domains (satisfaction with material, community, health and security, emotional and family well-beings), and five particular life domains were also affected by residents’ perception on tourism impact. The sample consisted of residents living in 3 villages in the Vangvieng District (Savang, Naduang andNaxai Villages). 239 respondents were surveyed. CFA and SEM were applied for data analysis. Multi-group analysis was utilized for comparing the difference among three villages.
The results demonstrated that residents’ perception of positive tourism impact affected their satisfaction with five life domains significantly. Meanwhile, residents’ perception on negative tourism impacts have affected on life satisfaction only with two life domains significantly (material and health-security well-being). The result also revealed that residents’ overall life satisfaction was influenced by three particular life domains. Material well-being negatively influenced overall life satisfaction. Meanwhile emotional and family well-being positively influenced their overall life satisfaction. The result of a comparison across three villages revealed there is a statistically significant difference among villages, which based on the conditions and stage of tourism development and tourism business ownership in their villages.
In conclusion, residents generally are satisfied with quality of life which is impacted by tourism development. However, the level of residents’ life satisfaction are different from a village to another villages. Due to residents in each village has a specific characteristics such as village’s conditions, tourism business ownership and stage of tourism development. Therefore, local authority and government should apply regional balanced development concept in the District’s Socio-Economic Development Plan by supporting various projects that are suitable for a specific region in order to reduce income disparity among villages.