Did you interfere with them? examining the environmental responsibility of birdwatchers in China

Zhiqiang Hou, Chungkeng Peng, Yongguang Zou, Jing He, Henghan Chen and Yujie Yang

Current Issues in Tourism, 2025, vol. 28, issue 1, 131-152

Abstract: As birdwatching tourism expands rapidly and garners increased interest from tourists, it is necessary to enhance their understanding of the positive and negative effects of birdwatching. It is similarly essential to promote eco-friendly behaviour for environmental preservation and more robust ecotourism. This study employs a mixed-method approach to investigate the factors shaping environmentally responsible conduct among birdwatching tourists. The first phase was qualitative: in-depth interviews were held with members of birdwatching organizations to delve into the facets and drivers of birdwatching tourists’ environmentally responsible behaviour. Second, a quantitative study was performed to verify the influencing process of these tourists’ actions; key factors included values, environmental knowledge, group norms, and empathy for nature. Results showed that biospheric values directly affected environmental knowledge, which in turn directly influenced birdwatching tourists’ environmentally responsible behaviour. Empathy for nature and group norms each mediated the relationship between environmental knowledge and environmentally responsible behaviour; egocentric values played significant moderating roles. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in closing.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2023.2298347

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