Date Available

8-10-2022

Year of Publication

2022

Degree Name

Master of Science in Community & Leadership Development

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Community and Leadership Development

First Advisor

Dr. Daniel Kahl

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between Powell County, Kentucky residents’ place attachment, and the perceived sociocultural, environmental, and financial benefits of the future Warrior’s Path development. A survey consisting primarily of five-point Likert scale questions was shared with several local organizations to distribute to their members. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Chi-square test of independence tests were used to discover any correlation between place attachment and perceived sociocultural, environmental, and financial benefits of tourism development. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r=.465) determined a moderate positive correlation between place attachment and perceived sociocultural benefits of the Warrior’s Path and tourism development. Of the three Chi-square tests of independence, one test was able to reject the null, allowing us to conclude a relationship between residents’ place attachment and perceived sociocultural benefits of tourism development. Knowing that there is strong evidence to suggest a positive relationship between place attachment and perceived sociocultural benefits of tourism development, tourism developers will be able to predict better how residents will respond to proposed development projects, such as the Warrior’s Path that will be running latitudinally through eastern Kentucky.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2022.309

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