From nature experience to visitors’ pro-environmental behavior: the role of perceived restorativeness and well-being

Abstract

This research presents two studies covering two interconnected and sequential research questions in the context of a developing country (China): (1) What psychological responses do different types of environmental experiences elicit in visitors and (2) how are the psychological responses and following behavioral responses elicited by natural experiences? The research posits that the feelings of well-being and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) are elicited through the mechanism of perceived restorativeness. Study 1 (a scenario experiment) suggests that national parks produce higher subjective vitality but similar perceived restorative outcomes compared to city parks. Study 2 (a survey) presents a theoretical model examining the relationships among perceived restorativeness, general subjective well-being (SWB), trip-specific SWB, and PEB in a peri-urban national forest park context. The results indicate that perceived restorativeness is an important factor influencing visitors’ well-being and PEB, though the association between SWB and PEB was nonsignificant. Our studies provide cross-cultural confirmation of the restorative effects of the natural environment. They also provide evidence that nature-based tourism could be a valid nature-based solution for improving the health and well-being of both humans and the earth, through the role of perceived restorativeness of nature.

Keywords:

• Nature contact
• restorativeness
• subjective vitality
• subjective well-being
• pro-environmental behavior
• peri-urban park

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes

1 http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2020-06/20/content_5520856.htm

Additional information

Funding

This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 41971254).

Notes on contributors

Hongmei Zhang

Hongmei Zhang is Professor in Shanghai Institute of Tourism, Shanghai Normal University, China. Her current research interests include consumer behavior in tourism, tourism destination marketing, nature-based tourism, pro-environmental behavior and national park. Her work has been published in leading tourism journals including Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, and Journal of Destination Marketing & Management.

Xin Zhang

Xin Zhang is a Master degree candidate at Shanghai Institute of Tourism, Shanghai Normal University, China. Her current research addresses tourist well-being.

Yijiang Yang

Yijiang Yang is a Master degree candidate at School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai University of Sport, China. He is also a Master degree holder at Institute of Sport Business, Loughborough University. His current research addresses outdoor recreation and sport events.

Jianyu Ma

Jianyu Ma is an Associate Professor of Tourism Management in the Institute of Tourism, Shanghai Normal University, PR China. She received her PhD from the School of Tourism, University of Queensland. Her research interests include tourism experience, visitor experience design, destination marketing and management.