Understanding environmentally significant behavior among whitewater rafting and trekking guides in the Garhwal Himalaya, India

Abstract

Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India, is planning for large-scale sustainable mountain tourism. However, current tourism practices have resulted in waste accumulation and vegetation loss. This paper explores the possibility of increasing the role of whitewater rafting and adventure tour guides to reduce tourists’ environmental impacts. Earlier studies on guides acquiescent with this role have found it to be effective in altering client behavior and minimizing environmentally destructive behavior. However, only limited research focuses on guides from developing countries outside an ecotourism context. This exploratory research in Garhwal, India, helps explain adventure guide intentions to perform pro-environmental behavior. The theory of planned behavior was applied to identify factors leading to a sample of 68 whitewater and trekking guides to perform three environmentally significant behaviors – packing out rubbish, burying their human waste and cutting living trees for firewood. Results suggest that the theoretical antecedents of the theory of planned behavior can predict intentions to perform pro-environmental behavior among non-western guides. Possible impediments to consistent performance of pro-environmental behavior among guides were noted, including lack of social pressure to change, abhorrence of contact with excreta, caste issues, effort expended to dig burial holes, etc. Managerial possibilities to encourage change are discussed.

对印度喜马拉雅加瓦尔地区浅滩漂流和徒步旅行导游的环保重要行为的理解

印度的加瓦尔地区正在规划大规模的可持续性山区旅游。但是，现在的旅游活动往往引起废物的堆积和植被的流失。该文章探讨了如何增加浅滩漂流和探险旅游导游对减低旅游者对环境影响的职责的可能性。早前的对导游的研究着重在他们默认的职责中对于有效地提醒旅游者行为和减低对环境有伤害的行为。但是，只有非常有限的研究是关于发展中国家除了生态旅游以外的内容里的导游的。这个对于印度加瓦尔地区的探索性研究帮助解释了探险导游的希望执行环保行为的意图。规划行为的理论在文中用来发现由68个浅滩漂流和徒步履行导游使用三种环境重要性行为的例子引导出的因素。三种环境重要性行为包括打包垃圾，埋掩人体排放垃圾，和砍生长中的树作为生火用途。结论指出规划行为理论的理论性前因能够预测在非西方导游中环保行为表现的意图。导游中环保行为持续性表现碰到的可能的障碍也在文中提到，包括缺少社会压力去改变，对排泄物非常不愿意的接触，阶层问题，在挖掩埋坑时花的精力等等。另外，对鼓励改变的管理方面的可能性也被讨论到。

Keywords:

• adventure tourism
• guide
• Himalaya
• India
• theory of planned behavior
• tourism impacts

关键词:

• 探险旅游
• 导游
• 喜马拉雅
• 印度
• 规划行为理论
• 旅游影响

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, and the American Alpine Club for funding this research. We would also like to thank Dr Keith Bosak, University of Montana, for his contributions throughout the research process, and the reviewers who helped improve the paper considerably. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the guides of Garhwal and Mountain Shepherds Initiative Private Limited for their time.