Tourism, like any other endeavour, operates within the social and political domains of a community, and it is therefore likely that residents with different social and political values would hold different representations of tourism. In the US, Snepenger and Johnson (1991) found that ‘conservatives’ were more negatively disposed to tourism than ‘liberals’. Lindberg and Johnson (1997) found support for a model that suggests that resident values regarding economic gain are positively related to perceptions of tourism. In using host resident social and political values to examine perceptions of tourism, it is possible to understand the levels of support or otherwise for tourism and tourism development within those communities.

This paper presents the findings from a study of two coastal tourism communities, one being a large, mature destination, the other being a small, underdeveloped tourism community. Using Inglehart’s (1981) materialist/post-materialist values which explore a number of goals, it was possible to link these values to perceptions of tourism development. Respondents were asked to choose six from a list of 12 social goals, half of which represented materialist values (economic growth, strong defence, maintaining order, controlling prices, a stable economy, the fight against crime) and six of which represent post materialist values (public participation, beautifying communities, freedom of speech, more humanity, community consultation and less emphasis on money). In addition, respondents were asked to name the political party with which they most closely identified.