Abstract Title: Seasonal workers and the social barriers preventing community entry: The effects of transience on social capital within a mountain resort community
Abstract:
While seasonal workers have been widely acknowledged within the amenity migration literature, limited attention has focused upon those who are more permanently attracted to the lifestyle and amenities characteristic of tourism destinations. This ethnographic research examines the process of transition undertaken by seasonal workers looking to become permanent residents of the mountain resort community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and the social barriers to entry confronted. Data collection methods include in-depth interviews, document analysis, and participant observation undertaken over a ten-month period during 2010-2011. Findings suggest that community acceptance of these predominantly young seasonal workers is constrained by a high degree of transience common to mountain resort tourism development. This has resulted in a generalized sense of mistrust directed towards all seasonal workers. Exacerbated by a social norm regarding the acceptable usage of drugs and alcohol that appears to govern much of the behavior among seasonal workers, this has further diminished the willingness of community members to open up their social networks. The subsequent social exclusion is indicative of a high level of bonding social capital, without the balanced development of the more inclusive bridging social capital among existing residents. These difficulties faced by seasonal workers in becoming more established members of the community can be seen as contributing to a lack of permanency and continuity, raising significant concerns regarding the future development and maintenance of such key social capital outcomes as community ownership and attachment.
