WebinarOnline
Beyond satisfaction: How can tourism and hospitality genuinely enhance community quality of life?
Friday, 27 November 2026
A community-centred examination of tourism success, moving beyond visitor satisfaction to consider wellbeing, housing, work, public services, participation and the fair distribution of benefits and pressures within destinations.
About this event
Visitor satisfaction is a familiar measure of tourism performance, but a successful destination must also work for the people who live there. This webinar examines how tourism and hospitality affect community quality of life through employment, housing, public space, services, identity and the environment. It asks what should be measured when growth and positive reviews tell only part of the story.
The session will introduce different understandings of wellbeing, including material security, health, belonging, opportunity and the ability to influence local decisions. Benefits and pressures are rarely shared evenly. Participants will consider how seasonality, insecure work, congestion and rising costs can sit alongside enterprise, cultural exchange and investment within the same destination.
Measurement will be linked to governance. The webinar will explore resident surveys, distributional indicators, participatory research and qualitative evidence as ways to reveal experiences hidden by averages. It will ask how communities can help define desired outcomes before projects proceed, rather than being consulted only after impacts appear. Long-term monitoring and transparent responses are essential if participation is to have practical value.
Researchers, students, policy professionals and tourism practitioners will gain a framework for placing community outcomes alongside visitor and business objectives. The discussion will avoid assuming that all residents share one view or that tourism alone can solve structural problems. Its purpose is to support better questions about value, trade-offs and accountability, helping destinations pursue forms of hospitality that strengthen everyday life without overlooking those who bear the greatest costs. Evaluation should therefore remain open to revision.