Gateway Communities and Parks in Limbo: Sustainability, Trust, and Resident Participation in Quasi-National Parks

Résumé fourni par la source

This study examines how residents’ sustainability perceptions shape satisfaction, institutional trust, and tourism participation intentions during the governance transition from pilot to quasi-national park status in China. Drawing upon the prism of sustainability and Social Exchange Theory, we extend the framework by integrating satisfaction and institutional trust as serial mediators. This research employs a mixed-methods design combining Structural Equation Modeling (N = 519) with longitudinal interviews (N = 57) across three gateway communities. Quantitative results show that in the current quasi-phase, socio-cultural and institutional sustainability perceptions exert stronger influences on resident satisfaction and participation intention compared to the economic dimension salient in the pilot phase. Satisfaction and trust function sequentially as mediators, linking sustainability perceptions to tourism participation intention. Qualitative findings further reveal that residents increasingly prioritize education, healthcare, social equity, and transparent governance, explaining why socio-cultural and institutional factors dominate in shaping satisfaction and tourism participation.

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