Perceptions of the Downtown Business Environment: A Comparison Between Tourist Dependent Towns and Non-tourist Dependent Towns.

	Speakers:
	Rodney C. Runyan Northwood University		Victoria C. Santucci Michigan State University
	Description: This study examined the different perceptions of the current retail market between downtown business owners in tourist dependent towns and downtown business owners and non-tourist dependent towns. In the competitive retail environment of the 21st century it is very difficult for small retailers to compete with large retail chains. Economies of scale allow the large retailers to offer extremely low prices and Internet retailing eliminates many costs incurred by a brick and mortar retailer. The vitality of downtown business districts has been put in jeopardy with the spread of mass merchandisers throughout the country. There has been little empirical research done comparing the retail and business environments of tourist dependent towns and non-tourist dependent towns, so this study will make an attempt to begin to fill the void of information. Data were collected in this study using self-reports of 59 small business owners in a tourist town in the western U.S. and 65 small business owners in a non-tourist town in the midwest. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and MANOVA. Significant differences in the perceptions of downtown business owners in tourist and non-tourist towns were found in the difficulty of attracting new customers and the perceptions of e-commerce. Significant differences were also found between the profit percentage of downtown businesses in tourist dependent towns and non-tourist dependent towns. Managerial recommendations are presented.