Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Department of Sociology, Virginia Tech,VA, USA

Publications

• Research Article   
  Threatened Halos of Perception: Residents' Accuracy of Crime Changes in a Developing Tourist Area
  Author(s): Ashley V. Reichelmann*, James E. Hawdon and John Ryan
  
  Background: Large scale memorial development has become a growing trend around the world. While numerous studies have tracked the effects of such development on objective measures of community welfare, far less is known about the social effects of memorial tourist attractions on communities where they are placed. This study explores one such impact: how do changes in the social and physical landscape as a result of memorial tourist development affect residents’ perceptions of the crime rate in their community? Methods: Secondary crime data was coupled with a longitudinal residential survey (n=135), measuring actual and perceived crime rates before and after the attraction’s opening. Results: While race, income, and political party affiliation predicted pre-opening beliefs, post-opening percep.. View More»
  

  Abstract PDF