Residents’ trust in government, tourism impacts, and quality of life: Testing a structural model

There is a paucity of research on political trust in local government institutions involved in tourism development in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the drivers of public trust and its influence on residents’ well-being by developing a theoretical model grounded in the social exchange theory. The model is tested using data collected on 1409 residents of four major cities in Cameroon. Results from the Partial-Least-Squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) suggest that residents perceived positive and negative impacts of tourism, knowledge of tourism, perceived power in tourism, and satisfaction with tourism significantly predicted their trust in government actors. Residents perceived positive and negative impacts of tourism were also significantly associated with their quality of life. The theoretical and practical relevance of these results are discussed.