Abstract: The study of tourism impacts has been the topic of studies by several researchers since many years ago. Social impact, as one of the fundamental pillars of tourism impacts, has been consequently investigated from different perspectives. This study aims at demonstrating the developmental stages of tourism social impacts assessment including model development, instrument design, and instrument testing. Therefore, a comprehensive literature review on social impact studies has been conducted to acknowledge the major theories. The attitudinal surveys have been found to be the common method of addressing a range of social-cultural impacts, especially with the focus on communities’ attitude towards social impacts of tourism in touristic destinations.