Abstract
Drawing on literature examining tourism development and quality of life (QoL), this study critically explores and analyses the perception, interpretation and understanding of QoL by local residents and foreign migrant workers in a rapidly developing tourism destination. This presentation fills an empirical gap by exploring the perception of QoL among migrant workers and local residents in Macao during the era of unparalleled tourism development. Macao’s casino-based economic growth and intensity of 30 million annual visitors to a territory of just 29 square kilometers raises many questions as to the QoL of its residents and social sustainability for Special Administered Region of China and other tourist destinations. A bottom-up approach using in-depth interview data enabled the identification of new QoL indicators and clarifies the importance of social and emotional well-being constructs in understanding and researching QoL. By moving beyond economic indicators (e.g employment), towards socio-cultural values and emotional and psychological well-being, this study identifies and explores the importance of social sustainability (e.g. social equity, health equity, community development, livability, social capital, social support, human rights, labour rights, social justice and community resilience). Future policy and planning policies by government, businesses and NGOs are recommended to incorporate more perceived social indicators emerging from the bottom and across cultures. The research also provides recommendations for key stakeholders in government and industry on how to support local residents and migrant workers’ quality of life and to better understand and achieve social sustainability.