ABSTRACT
The mark of most evolving fields growing out of parent disciplines is a continued advancement in theoretical application. Though Deery et al. highlight some of the stages, the researches adapted their approach by reorganizing and reclassifying their proposed stages and adding a newly developing stage. The groundwork was initially laid for social impacts research through the definition of key concepts, typologies, and conceptual model development, heavily focused on residents’ attitudes. By focusing on sustainability and applying established theoretical frameworks, this stage has laid the groundwork for more nuanced and context-sensitive analyses of the social impacts of tourism, leading to more informed tourism planning and management strategies. Hadinejad et al. identified several theories that have received limited attention in the context of social impacts of tourism research over the past decade. These include the bottom-up spillover theory, social dilemma theory, social identity theory, intergroup contact theory, and integrated threat theory.
