Ecotourism in China

Impact of Tourist Environmental Awareness on Environmental Friendly Behaviors: A Case Study from Qinghai Lake, China

Expand
  • 1. Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Received date: 2017-06-22

  Online published: 2017-09-27

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China (41671527)

Abstract

This paper examines the influence environmental awareness and recreation experience has on the environmentally-friendly behavior of tourists, and identifies the function of perceived quality as an intermediary variable. By providing a conceptual framework based on the combination of environmental awareness theory and tourist perception theory, and a SEM-based methodology, an in-depth analysis of the influence mechanism was carried out in the Qinghai Lake area of Qinghai province. Results show that there exist differences in the ways environmental awareness influences perceived gains and perceived losses, and the influence coefficient of the former is higher than that of the latter. The perceived gains may promote environmentally friendly behaviors, while the perceived losses have an adverse impact on such behaviors. Moreover, the strength of the adverse impact of the latter is less than the strength of the positive impact of the former. The mediating effect of perceived quality was confirmed in the EA (environmental awareness)-EB (environmental behavior) nexus, within which the influence of tourist environmental awareness on environmentally friendly behavior could be transformed. The mediating effect of perceived quality in the perceived-gains model was more obvious than that in the perceived-losses model. This study highlights the importance of understanding the foundations of environmental behavior related to environmental awareness and tourist perceptions.

Cite this article

ZENG Yuxi, ZHONG Linsheng . Impact of Tourist Environmental Awareness on Environmental Friendly Behaviors: A Case Study from Qinghai Lake, China[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2017 , 8(5) : 502 -513 . DOI: 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2017.05.008

References

[1] Abubakar A M, Ilkan M. 2016. Impact of online WOM on destination trust and intention to travel: A medical tourism perspective. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 5(3): 192-201.
[2] Bajs I P. 2015. Tourist perceived value, relationship to satisfaction, and behavioral intentions the example of the Croatian tourist destination Dubrovnik. Journal of Travel Researc h, 54(1): 122-134.
[3] Ballantyne R, Packer J, Falk J. 2011. Visitors’ learning for environmental sustainability: Testing short- and long-term impacts of wildlife tourism experiences using structural equation modelling. Tourism Management , 32(6): 1243-1252.
[4] Baron R M, Kenny D A. 1986. The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and social considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 51(6): 1173- 1182.
[5] Blakely T, Fawcett J, Hunt D, et al . 2006. What is the contribution of smoking and socioeconomic position to ethnic inequalities in mortality in New Zealand? The Lancet, 368(9529): 44-52.
[6] Chen C F, Chen F S. 2010. Experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists. Tourism Management , 31(1): 29-35.
[7] Comrey A L. 1973. A First Course in Factor Analysis . New York: Academic Press.
[8] Denstadli J M, Jacobsen J K S. 2011. The long and winding roads: Perceived quality of scenic tourism routes. Tourism Management , 32(4): 780-789.
[9] Fan J, Qiu H L, Wu X F. 2014.Tourist destination image, place attachment and tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior: A case of Zhejiang tourist resorts. Tourism Tribune , 29(1): 55-66. (in Chinese)
[10] Forgas-Coll S, Palau-Saumell R, Matute J, et al . 2017. How do service quality, experiences and enduring involvement influence tourists' behavior? An empirical study in the Picasso and Miró Museums in Barcelona. International Journal of Tourism Research , 19(2): 246-256.
[11] Garvin D A. 1987. Competing on the eight dimensions of quality. Harvard Business Review , 65(11/12): 101-109.
[12] Han H, Hwang J. 2015. Norm-based loyalty model (NLM): Investigating delegates’ loyalty formation for environmentally responsible conventions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 46, 1-14.
[13] Han H, Kim W, Kiatkawsin K. 2017. Emerging youth tourism: fostering young travelers’ conservation intentions. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing , 34(7): 905-918.
[14] Han J H, Lee M J, Hwang Y S. 2016. Tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior in response to climate change and tourist experiences in nature-based tourism. Sustainability , 8(7): 644.
[15] Hossain M U, Poon C S, Lo I M C, et al . 2016. Evaluation of environmental friendliness of concrete paving eco-blocks using LCA approach. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment , 21(1): 70-84.
[16] Howell R, Allen S. 2017. People and planet: Values, motivations and formative influences of individuals acting to mitigate climate change. Environmental Values , 26(2): 131-155.
[17] Hsu C L, Lu H P. 2004. Why do people play on-line games? An extended TAM with social influences and flow experience. Information Management, 41(7): 853-868
[18] Kaiser F G, Wölfing S, Fuhrer U. 1999. Environmental attitude and ecological behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 19(1): 1-19
[19] Kiatkawsin K, Han H. 2017. Young travelers' intention to behave pro-environmentally: merging the value-belief-norm theory and the expectancy theory. Tourism Management , 59: 76-88.
[20] Kim M, Qu H. 2017. The moderating effects of three reference groups on Asian pleasure travelers’ destination value. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing , 34(7): 892-904.
[21] Kurt Koffka.1935. Principles of Gestalt Psychology . London: Lund Humphries,
[22] Lee H Y, Bonn M A, Reid E L, et al . 2017. Differences in tourist ethical judgment and responsible tourism intention: An ethical scenario approach. Tourism Management, 60: 298-307.
[23] Lee T H, Jan F H, Yang C C. 2013. Conceptualizing and measuring environmentally responsible behaviors from the perspective of community-based tourists. Tourism Management , 36(3): 454-468.
[24] Lee T H, Jan F H. 2015. The effects of recreation experience, environmental attitude, and biospheric value on the environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists. Environmental Management , 56(1): 193-208.
[25] Lee T H, Jan F H. 2015. The influence of recreation experience and environmental attitude on the environmentally responsible behavior of community-based tourists in Taiwan. Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 23(7): 1063-1094.
[26] Lee T H. 2011. How recreation involvement, place attachment and conservation commitment affect environmentally responsible behavior. Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 19(7): 895-915.
[27] Li Q C, Zhou L Q. 2014. The impact of social capital on tourists’ intention to exhibit environmentally friendly behaviors. Tourism Tribune , 29(9): 73-83. (in Chinese)
[28] Li Y Q, Cai Y L. 2004. A study on ecotourists' behavioral characteristics in Beijing: a case study in Baihuashan Nature Reserve. Geographical Research , 23(6): 863-874. (in Chinese)
[29] Liobikien? G, Juknys R. 2016. The role of values, environmental risk perception, awareness of consequences, and willingness to assume responsibility for environmentally friendly behaviour: the Lithuanian case. Journal of Cleaner Production , 112(part4): 3413-3422.
[30] McCool SF. 2009. Constructing partnerships for protected area tourism planning in an era of change and messiness. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(2): 133-148
[31] Milfont TL, Duckitt J, Cameron LD 2006. A cross-cultural study of environmental motive concerns and their implications for pro-environmental behavior. Environment and Behavior , 38(6): 745-767
[32] Mobley C, Vagias W M, DeWard S L. 2010. Exploring additional determinants of environmentally responsible behavior: The influence of environmental literature and environmental attitudes. Environment and Behavior , 42(4): 420-447.
[33] Moghimehfar F, Halpenny E A. 2016. How do people negotiate through their constraints to engage in pro-environmental behavior? A study of front-country campers in Alberta, Canada. Tourism Management , 2016, 57: 362-372.
[34] Muncer S, Speak B. 2017. Confirmatory factor analysis of a two scale model of the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) across diagnostic categories. Psychiatry Research , 247: 12-14.
[35] Ryan R M, Deci E L. 2000. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologis t, 55(1): 68.
[36] Sanchez J, Callarisa L, Rodriguez R M, et al . 2006. Perceived value of the purchase of a tourism product. Tourism Management , 27(3): 394-409.
[37] Stern PC, Dietz T, Abel T, et al. 1999. A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: the case of environmentalism. Human Ecology Review , 6(2): 81-97
[38] Su L, Swanson S R, Chen X. 2016. The effects of perceived service quality on repurchase intentions and subjective well-being of Chinese tourists: The mediating role of relationship quality. Tourism Management , 52: 82-95.
[39] Vining J, Ebreo A. 1992. Predicting recycling behavior form global and specific environmental attitudes and changes in recycling opportunities. Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 22(20): 1580-1607
[40] Weaver D B, Lawton L J. 2011. Visitor loyalty at a private South Carolina protected area. Journal of Travel Research , 50(3): 335-346.
[41] Zeithaml V A. 1988. Consumer perception of price, quality, and value: a means-end model synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing , 52(7): 2-22.
[42] Zhang L Y. 2008. A study on consumers' behavior and phenomenon under unusual environment. Tourism Tribune , 23(10): 12-16. (in Chinese)
[43] Zhang L Y. 2009. Unusual environment: the core concept of tourism research——A new framework for tourism research. Tourism Tribune , 24(7): 12-17. (in Chinese)
[44] Zhu H, Liu J, Wei Z, et al . 2017. Residents’ attitudes towards sustainable tourism development in a historical-cultural village: Influence of perceived impacts, sense of place and tourism development potential. Sustainability , 9(1): 0061.

Outlines

/