“Stop the ferry” : A Qualitative Study on Residents’ Attitudes During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: A contagious virus appeared in late 2019 and later led to the COVID-19 pandemic being declared in March 2020. The pandemic has since seen detrimental socioeconomic effects worldwide which led to a halt in the global tourism industries. Sweden has used a different and criticized approach to combating the pandemic compared to other countries. The country has relied on the individual responsibility and the civic liability of its population.Meanwhile, the biggest island in the country, Gotland, has recovered itsvisitation figures during the pandemic and has been voted the most popular destination in Sweden in 2021. This recovery was, however, not without consequences. Residents of the island have voiced their opinions on the topic of the pandemic and tourism online and in newspapers. Residents have expressed fear of the virus spreading further, imposing health risks as restrictions on social distancing have not been kept by tourists. Tourismrelated research on Swedish island destinations to this end is scarce in addition to there being limited research on residents’ attitudes during a pandemic and limited qualitative research on residents’ attitudes in general.This is a qualitative case study that studies the islanders’ perceptions of tourism impacts with the help of semi-structured interviews and letters to the editors. The study uses Social Exchange Theory as the conceptual framework,a theory described as the most logical framework to explain residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts. The results from this study show that the residents perceive more negative impacts than positive impacts. Perceptions of positive impacts are mainly related to the contributions to rural areas. Negative impacts related to water scarcity, littering, the disappearance of natural areas, over-crowding, gentrification, seasonality, the economic interest of the tourism industry during the pandemic, and more.