The Role of Place Attachment in Developing Emotional Solidarity With Residents

As the body of work concerning emotional solidarity between residents and tourists continues to grow within the tourism literature, little focus has been placed on how the setting factors into such relationships. Using the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove (a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwestern Nigeria) as a study site, this research examines the role visitors' attachment to the place plays in explaining their perceived solidarity with area residents. From confirmatory factor analysis, a measurement model was established, which revealed strong psychometric properties for the two place attachment factors (i.e., place identity and place dependence) and the three emotional solidarity factors (i.e., feeling welcomed, emotional closeness, and sympathetic understanding). Structural equation modeling demonstrated that each of the place attachment factors explained a high degree of variance (e.g., R-2 ranging between 45% and 54%) in visitors' emotional solidarity with residents. Implications and future research opportunities are offered within the close of the article.