Irritation index, tourism

Established by Doxey (1975), irritation index or “Irridex” is based on the understanding of local residents’ attitude change toward tourists and tourism development in different stages of a destination’s life cycle. Its different phases are primarily the consequence of tourism development in terms of its varying social, economic, and environmental impacts on the destination. This model assumes the resulting circumstances with negative sociocultural impacts can lead to irritation in the local community. Its four stages of euphoria, apathy, irritation, and antagonism explain the deteriorating responses of the local residents to tourism development. During the first stage, the number of tourists is small and the local community welcomes tourism. In the phase of apathy, the number of tourists increases, and the relationship between tourists and residents becomes formalized. Irritation is the phase when residents become concerned about tourism due to significant growth of arrivals and...