TY - BOOK AU - Flores, Ellaine Anne Marie AU - Mendoza, Patricia Kelly AU - Torres, Gabrielle Angela AU - Villarojo, John Lloyd Christian TI - Voices of the locals: Understanding stakeholders' quality of life and perceptions on tourism development in Tagaytay City - a mixed method approach SN - 1908-3165 KW - quality of life KW - perceptions KW - stakeholders KW - tourism development KW - satisfaction KW - Tagaytay City N1 - I. ABSTRACT One of the most relevant tourism strategies of the countries with a flourishing tourism sector is improving the "quality of life". Neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and especially Singapore have adopted "quality tourism" strategies that are focused on locals' well-being through public engagement and participation (Singapore et al., 2020). Despite the growing recognition of QOL internationally, more tourism QOL studies are needed in the Philippines. This gap limits the country's ability to compete with its well-visited neighbors and capture substantial economic benefits from tourism. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach grounded in Social Exchange Theory to address this gap. It explored stakeholders' QoL and perceptions of tourism development in Tagaytay City and investigated the relationship and difference between their demographic profile and quality of life. This study's quantitative phase captured residents' perceptions across ten barangays and tourists. In contrast, the qualitative phase provided insights into Tagaytay's tourism development through interviews with residents, tourists, business owners, barangay officials, and the Tagaytay Tourism Office. QOL was measured through six domains: community well-being, urban issues, way of life, community pride and awareness, economic strength, and recreation amenities assessed through the tool developed by Andereck and Nyaupane (2011). Results revealed a correlation between age, years of residency, occupation, and quality of life received. Additionally, stakeholders reported moderate overall QoL (3.31), with the highest satisfaction in "way of life" (3.57) and the lowest in "urban issues" (2.60). Several themes derived from QOL domains that described stakeholders' perceptions of Tagaytay City's tourism development were also found. Through integrating quantitative and qualitative data, this study presented the different voices of the stakeholders. It informed the development of tourism programs that minimize the negative impacts of tourism while maximizing benefits for stakeholders and the city as a whole. ER -