Perceived Opportunities for Sustainable Tourism Development in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte: A Descriptive-Correlational Study

This study assessed the perceived opportunities for sustainable tourism development in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, using a cross-sectional descriptive–correlational survey design. A total of 370 respondents, comprising 360 residents and 10 Local Government Unit (LGU) tourism personnel, participated in the study through non-probability convenience sampling for residents and complete enumeration for LGU personnel. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire measuring four dimensions of sustainability: economic, social, environmental, and institutional. Descriptive results revealed that perceived opportunities for sustainable tourism development exist to a moderate extent across all four dimensions, with economic and environmental sustainability obtaining relatively higher mean scores compared to social and institutional dimensions. These findings indicate that while tourism development presents emerging opportunities within the municipality, sustainability mechanisms remain in a developing stage and are not yet fully institutionalized. Inferential analysis using statistical procedures appropriate to variable measurement levels showed that age (Spearman’s ρ = 0.054, p = 0.300) and gender (point-biserial r = –0.028, p = 0.594) were not significantly associated with respondents’ overall perception scores. In contrast, educational attainment (Spearman’s ρ = 0.208, p < 0.001) demonstrated a statistically significant but weak positive association, indicating that higher levels of education are associated with more favorable perceptions of sustainable tourism development opportunities. These findings are based on respondents’ perceptions and do not imply causal relationships. Overall, the results provide context-specific insights that may inform local tourism planning and policy development in relation to broader sustainability frameworks.