The Impacts of Place Attachment on Environmentally Responsible Behavioral Intention and Satisfaction of Chinese Nature-Based Tourists

Alice S.Y. Chow, Anson T.H. Ma, Gwendolyn K.L. Wong, Theresa W.L. Lam and Lewis T.O. Cheung
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Alice S.Y. Chow: Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Anson T.H. Ma: Department of Geography and Resources Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Gwendolyn K.L. Wong: Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Theresa W.L. Lam: Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Lewis T.O. Cheung: Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: Increasing visits to protected areas in China have drawn public attention on the negative impacts on ecologically sensitive areas. Understanding potential determinants of the environmentally responsible behavioral intention of nature-based tourists has become a common focus in tourism studies. Scholars seek to explore potential determinants of visitors’ behavior, and the findings can be referenced by the managers of protected areas to formulate visitor management strategies. On the basis of a sample of 402 questionnaires collected in protected areas in South China, namely, Nanling National Forest Park and Dinghu Mountain National Nature Reserve, we explore the association between visitors’ place attachment and their satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavioral intention. The results show that place dependence and place identity are positively correlated with the satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavioral intention of visitors; thus, our results differ from those of previous studies on Western visitors. The lack of significant results regarding place social bonding revealed the shortcomings associated with visitor management in China’s protected areas. Chinese culture has a great influence on various findings in this study. All of the findings provide significant insights for management and policy-making regarding protected areas worldwide to accommodate the rising number of nature-based visitors to China.

Keywords: place attachment; environmentally responsible behavioral intention; satisfaction; nature-based tourism; Chinese tourists; South China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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