Relationships between place attachment,place satisfaction and pro-environmental behaviour in an Australian national park

Place attachment is a multidimensional construct comprising place dependence, place affect, place identity, and place social bonding. Yet, studies investigating the relationships between place attachment, place satisfaction, and pro-environmental behaviour have not investigated its pluralistic nature. Using data from 452 visitors to the Dandenong Ranges National Park, Australia, this study investigates these four dimensions of place attachment and their relationships with place satisfaction and pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Findings suggest that the four place attachment constructs are significantly associated with place satisfaction. Results suggest that it is necessary to consider pro-environmental behavioural intentions as a two-factor structure construct, comprising low and high effort pro-environmental behaviour. Place satisfaction is associated with low effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Place affect is significantly associated with both types of environmental behavioural intentions. Place identity is not associated with either type of environmental behavioural intentions. A significant association is also noted between low effort and high effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Practical applications of the study include marketing aimed at encouraging repeat visitation, with sophisticated message development and delivery building emotional attachment, a sense of belonging, and enhanced personal meaning. Heritage interpretation could use affect and emotion to enhance visitor satisfaction and experience, coupled with an outcomes-focused communication plan.     

Influence of celebrity involvement on place attachment: role of destination image in film tourism

The importance of place attachment in film tourism has been recognized by scholars and practitioners. However, despite its predominance in the destination management industry, several unaddressed issues remain in film tourism. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the relationships between celebrity involvement, destination image, and place attachment. Data obtained from 301 purposeful film tourists indicated that celebrity involvement was positively associated with place attachment. Moreover, cognitive image and affective image partially mediated the relationship between celebrity involvement and place attachment. In other words, cognitive image and affective image represent crucial psychological processes that explain how celebrity involvement influences place attachment. Furthermore, compared with the affective image, the cognitive image had a more crucial mediating role in the celebrity fan–film destination attachment relationship. Theoretical and managerial implications are also provided.     

大众旅游价值导向调节下地方依恋维度的亲环境驱动效应

培育大众亲环境游客对目的地环境可持续发展的重要性日益突出,但学界对此的深入研究却很贫乏。立足于大众游客的环境心理特点,文章通过概念模型构建与检验,探究其亲环境行为欲望产生过程中外加驱力(地方依恋维度)和内在障碍(大众旅游价值导向维度)的互动效果。以三亚的国内大众游客为样本,经因子分析和阶层多元回归分析,文章发现:(1)大众旅游价值导向两维度中",维护旅游功能"的亲环境阻碍力度更大;(2)地方依赖和地方情感都显著预测大众游客的亲环境行为欲望,但后者的驱力和抵御调节能力都明显更强;(3)地方认同发挥亲环境驱动负效应,且这一效应在大众游客情境下易受到积极调节。文章最后汇报了研究的总结论、结论探讨和管理启示。     

The self-concept and psychological antecedents of intention to recommend a heritage site: The moderating effects of visitor type

Using the developmental theory of place attachment, this study evaluates several psychological antecedents of tourist intention to recommend a heritage site. Specifically, self-concept, motivation, positive, and negative emotions are evaluated as determinants of place attachment, tourist satisfaction and intention to recommend. We test a proposed theoretical model on a sample of 500 visitors (250 international and 250 domestic) to Su Nuraxi, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sardinia, Italy. The results supported 11 of the 14 hypothesized relationships. Self-concept had a significant and positive relationship with tourist motivation, satisfaction and place attachment, highlighting its conceptual importance in the heritage tourism context. Tourist motivation had a significant and positive effect on positive emotions, and also exerted a positive effect on negative emotions. Visitor type moderated only the relationship between tourist motivation and negative emotions. The findings have both theoretical and managerial implications, particularly for heritage site management, marketing and destination management.     

Key impact factors of visitors’ environmentally responsible behaviour: personality traits or interpretive services? A case study of Beijing’s Yuyuantan Urban Park,China

The environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB) facilitates the sustainability of tourism destinations. This study aims to identify the key impact factors to promote visitors’ ERB in urban park and examine the impact mechanism. A total of 567 visitors were surveyed in Beijing’s Yuyuantan Urban Park. Structural equation modelling results indicate that personality traits are the most important factors that affect visitors’ ERB, while the effect of how satisfaction with interpretive services plays upon visitors’ ERB using place attachment as a mediator. Openness traits positively affect satisfaction with experiential services and general behaviour. Additionally, implications in urban park management are provided.     

Outcome-focused national park experience management: transforming participants,promoting social well-being,and fostering place attachment

Understanding visitor experiences is essential if park managers are to facilitate beneficial outcomes for both individuals and society. We investigated visitor experiences in a special model of thematically connected guided walking, biking, and 4WD tours in Australian national parks. Outcomes attained by first-time and repeat participants were assessed by questionnaires with more detailed insights from semi-structured interviews with repeat participants. Participants developed strong social ties with community members and experienced significant improvements in health, well-being, and competence, gaining a sense of achievement from mastering a challenge with positive implications for their lives beyond the tours. The tour series performed well in achieving visitor satisfaction, repeat participation, and word-of-mouth recommendation. The experience increased participants’ attachment to national parks, reinforcing their sense of environmental stewardship. The findings are especially relevant to efforts in parks and elsewhere to better integrate senior citizens into the community and provide opportunities to increase their physical, mental, and social well-being. Such opportunities become limited, for example, when people retire from work or suffer health impairment. The tour series proved an effective tool for outcome-focused park management, providing significant personal benefits to participants with positive implications for larger societal benefits, plus political and financial advantages for park managements.     

The Relationships Between Positive Emotions,Place Attachment,and Place Satisfaction in Casino Hotels

Tourists’ emotions are seldom studied with respect to their place attachment, particularly in the context of casino hotels. To understand the role played by positive emotions in place attachment and satisfaction, this study attempts to identify the dimensions of positive emotions of casino-hotel visitors, followed by the examination of relationships between positive emotions, place attachment, and satisfaction. The survey results revealed the significant and positive impacts of positive emotions on place attachment, satisfaction, and revisit intention. Particularly, the “light pleasure” emotions were found to have a stronger impact on casino-hotel visitors’ satisfaction than other constructs in the model. The findings also lead to managerial implications and suggestions for future research.     

Tourist motivation and place attachment: the mediating effects of service interactions with hotel employees

Using social facilitation theory, this study evaluates the mediating effects of service interactions with hotel employees on the relationship between tourist motivation and place attachment. The moderating effects of nationality and hotel star-rating on these relationships are also examined. The overall model tested on a sample of 545 international visitors to the island of Mauritius showed that service interactions mediated the relationship between tourist motivation and place attachment. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) multi-group analysis found that the relationships among the constructs differed according to tourists’ nationality and the hotels’ star rating. The findings have important implications for hotel managers and destination marketing and management.     

The effect of on-site experience and place attachment on loyalty: Evidence from Chinese tourists in a hot-spring resort

As an antecedent of place attachment, on-site experience plays a key role in obtaining customer loyalty in the context of a hot-spring resort operation. However, few studies have addressed the consequences of on-site experience in terms of its components and examined empirically the relationship between on-site experience and place attachment. This study was focused on ascertaining the dimensions of on-site experience and examining the relationship between on-site experience and loyalty through place attachment. A conceptualization of on-site experience is proposed, with three dimensions: environmental experience, on-site self-related experience, and on-site social interaction. The results revealed interesting relationships between components of on-site experience and place attachment. Finally, managerial implications of the results are discussed for managers of hot-spring resorts.     

Research priorities in park tourism

Park tourism is a large and important activity on which a substantial body of research work has been published. This paper reviews that work in the light of the issues now faced by parks and park tourism, and argues that there are significant research gaps that urgently need additional work. The paper outlines 10 such areas, including: visitor use monitoring; park tourism economic impact monitoring; park finance; professional competencies for tourism management; building public support; visitor satisfaction; licenses, permits, leases, and concessions for tourism; pricing policies; management capacity; and park tourism governance. The paper suggests that work in these areas is so important that the long term political and social relevance, effective management and sustainable future of many parks and protected areas depend on the results. It points to the park creation phase being over after about 150 years of growth, and the need to move more effectively into the long-term management phase. A number of key questions arise. The numerous parks must fulfill their conservation mandate and they must be financially secure. They almost certainly must forge links to tourism, yet not be dominated by tourism's demands, creating, therefore, a new and sustainable research-based relationship.     

Place attachment,recreational activities,and travel intent under changing climate conditions

Globally, climate is changing and will likely alter where and when visitors decide to travel. This study looks at how visitors’ attachment to Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine, affects their intended future visitation under changing climate conditions. Additionally, this research explores the relationship between recreational activities visitors participate in and their attachment to the destination. Visitors were identified on-site and asked to complete an online survey (n = 416). Segmentation analysis was used to group visitors by their level of attachment to the destination: high (27%), medium (49%), and low (24%). Results indicated that those with a high level of place attachment participated in more recreational activities during their trip, although only some activities elicited significant differences. Additionally, those with high attachment said they were less likely to be deterred from visiting MDI in the future under potentially negative changing environmental conditions. Results indicate that under changing conditions, visitors’ place attachment influences future visitation intent. It is easier to retain visitors than attract new ones, so destinations (including gateway communities) would benefit from developing strategies that enhances visitor place attachment to capitalize on repeat visitation and increase long-term economic sustainability.     

Domestic tourists to Elmina Castle,Ghana: motivation,tourism impacts,place attachment,and satisfaction

Abstract

Current research on dark tourism lacks an in-depth investigation of the relationships between the various psychological factors that influence tourist satisfaction. Using the cognitive-affective-behavior system, this paper evaluates a theoretical model that postulates relationships between four constructs, namely: motivation, perceptions of tourism impacts, place attachment, and satisfaction. The study extends the tourism literature on cultural sustainability by showing the psychological connections of domestic tourists to a dark heritage site, and the implications for perceptions of tourism impacts on this heritage. Based on a sample of 414 domestic tourists at a dark heritage site in Elmina, Ghana, PLS-SEM confirmed several inter-relationships among the four constructs. Motivation had a positive relationship with perceptions of positive and negative tourism impacts, suggesting that the tourists who were more motivated to visit the site for cultural/learning experiences were also more inclined to perceive both positive and negative tourism impacts. Implications for dark tourism and how heritage site management can influence tourists’ perceptions of impacts are offered.     

The influence of place attachment on the relationship between destination attractiveness and environmentally responsible behavior for island tourism in Penghu,Taiwan

This study examines the causal relationships between place attachment, destination attractiveness and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB), and the mediating effect of place attachment. Four hundred and thirteen tourists were surveyed who had visited the Penghu islands, Taiwan. Structural Equation Modeling was used to determine the relationships among the variables and the mediating effects. Results show that the emotions and feelings (place attachment), which tourists have for Penghu, are positively associated with stronger ERB; the extent of attractiveness of island tourism as perceived by tourists is also positively associated with stronger ERB. A higher level of tourists’ destination attractiveness in regard to island tourism is associated with stronger place attachment; place attachment was found to exert a significant effect in mediating the relationship between destination attractiveness and ERB. The study shows that when island tourists are attracted by and are attached to the destination, they are more likely to exhibit ERB. The study pioneers the integration of all three factors in a sustainable tourism behavior model designed for tourists who stay one night or more at a destination, and tests the hypotheses for the first time in an Asian destination. Management implications and recommendations for the sustainable development of Penghu islands tourism are provided.     

Place Familiarity and Attachment: Moderators of The Relationship Between Readers’ Credibility Assessment of A Travel Blog and Review Acceptance

This study examines how the readers’ credibility assessment of a travel blog article written about a destination relates to the following: intention to adopt the opinions expressed in the article; intention to recommend the article to others; intention to visit that destination; and place familiarity with and attachment to that destination. Partial least squares analysis revealed that past experience with the destination is needed for readers to use their credibility assessment of the article to recommend it to others. Place identity negatively moderates between blog’s credibility and review acceptance. Past experience is needed for place familiarity to be a moderator.     

How recreation involvement,place attachment and conservation commitment affect environmentally responsible behavior

This study examines a behavioral model using latent variables of place attachment, recreation involvement, conservation commitment and environmentally responsible behavior among tourists visiting wetlands. In total, 928 usable questionnaires were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to the data by using LISREL 8.70 for Windows. Analytical results, which further elucidate the behavioral models of nature-based tourism, suggest that place attachment, recreation involvement and conservation commitment critically impact environmentally responsible behavior. In this behavioral model, conservation commitment simultaneously and partially mediates the relationships between place attachment and environmentally responsible behavior and between recreation involvement and environmentally responsible behavior. A series of management implications are drawn, including the need to use this information via a visitor interpretation strategy, greater use of partnerships with local communities and businesses to spread the importance of wetlands and of environmentally friendly behavior, and the need to work with other wetlands to share the type of visitor motivations best suited to encourage environmentally friendly behavior.     

From lost space to third place: The visitor's perspective

Although studies on place attachment in tourism have expanded greatly during the past decade, most have focused on nature-based settings, thereby neglecting the social dimension of place. The triadic relationship of activity involvement, place attachment, and visitor loyalty has received limited attention. In response, we investigated visitors' attachment to activities and settings within cultural creative districts (CCDs) in a manufacturing hub of China, with the aim to advance the theory of place attachment and elucidate geographic and psychological factors that can affect visitor experience. Results of an onsite questionnaire (n = 252) indicated that: 1) activity involvement positively affected place attachment; 2) attraction and social bonding were strong predictors of visitor loyalty. We identified a more effective way to implement CCDs as part of urban-regeneration strategies—namely, to become visitors' favourite third places, CCDs need to offer high-quality social encounters with a suitable mix of physical, cultural, and entertainment amenities.     

Hotels’ environmental leadership and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior

Expanding on a stream of literature connecting employee motivation to environmental practices, this research investigated why hospitality employees participated in organizational citizenship behaviors related to company sustainability efforts. The results of this study suggest that employees’ environmental belief partially mediates the influences of both environmental-transformational leadership and environmental policies on organizational citizenship behavior toward the environment, while it fully mediates the association between environmental training and the outcome. The findings also demonstrate that employees’ perception of organizational support moderates the relationship between environmental belief and organizational citizenship behavior toward the environment. Pointedly, hospitality workers reported they were increasingly more likely to engage in ecologically friendly organizational citizenship behaviors as their environmental beliefs increased, and as such, organizational support moderated the association so that the more support received, the more likely workers would engage in such behaviors, and the less support received, the less likely they were to do so.     

The Influence of Place Change on Place Bonding: A Longitudinal Panel Study of Renovated Park Users

People-place relationship has received increasing attention in recent decades. However, the effect of place change on bonding has rarely been discussed in recreation studies, especially with the use of a longitudinal approach. This study tracked the changes of park users’ place bonding and behaviors in three different phases of park renovation (original, closed and reopened). Results indicated that place bonding is subject to change when a place is unavailable, and the magnitude of the bonding change is related to users’ initial place bonding. While the higher bonding respondents exhibited decreasing bonding after park renovation, the bonding of the lower group increased after renovation. Besides, the positive effect of evaluation on the bonding changes, and the association between level of bonding and decision to return were also confirmed.     

Revisiting the host city: An empirical examination of sport involvement,place attachment,event satisfaction and spectator intentions at the London Olympics

This paper tests a model based on hypothesized relationships among sport involvement, place evaluations; at the level of venue and host city, and event satisfaction as antecedents of behavioral intentions. The relationships are explored among a sample of people attending the 2012 London Olympic Games (n = 603). Spectators completed questionnaires at event venues, providing responses at the place and time of the consumptive experience. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to determine the dimensions of the constructs and to test the validity of measurement items. The structural model indicated that sport involvement and place attachment influenced revisit intentions but this was not the case for event satisfaction. This suggests that although tourism will benefit when spectators experience a psychological connection with event venues, the Olympic Games offer a distinctive event experience that does not have a direct influence on intentions to revisit the host city.     

The mediating role of place identity in the relationship between residents’ perceptions of heritage tourism and place attachment: the Macau youth experience

Ever since Macau became a World Heritage city, there is a growing body of research on Macau heritage tourism. However, the study on Macau residents’ place identity (PI) and place attachment (PA) amid heritage tourism development has yet to be explored. Owing to this, the current study explores the mediating role of PI on the relationship between heritage tourism perceptions and PA.