Motivations to engage in last chance tourism in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area and Wapusk National Park: the role of place identity and nature relatedness

ABSTRACT

The threat that climate change impacts pose to rare and vulnerable destinations has given rise to a phenomenon known as last chance tourism. This travel behaviour involves tourists increasingly travelling to destinations they perceive to be critically threatened, while contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts in these very places. For last chance destinations to be managed effectively in the face of climate change, a clearer understanding of what drives this travel behaviour is needed. Drawing on the importance of place and nature to identity construction, this research uses a structural equation modelling approach to examine last chance tourism motivations in Churchill, Canada. Results provide evidence of a motivation to engage in a last chance experience. They also indicate that this motivation is related to a desire to share a connection to nature with similar individuals, and to become part of the local story. Beyond this, results show that visitors' sense of place identity and nature relatedness contribute significantly to their motivation to engage in last chance tourism. Findings from this research are important to the management of last chance destinations, including protected areas that are legislated to preserve significant natural and cultural features.

在丘吉尔野生动物管理区和瓦普斯克国家公园里从事最后机会旅游的动机：地方认同与自然关联性的职责

气候变化对稀有和脆弱的目的地造成的威胁已经引起了一种叫做``最后机会"旅游的现象。该旅行行为包含了旅游者不断地旅行至那些严重地威胁到的目的地，并且在这些特别的地方有助于温室气体排放和气候变化的影响。对最后机会目的地来说，以气候变化的名号来有效管理，需要对旅行行为有一个更清楚的理解。从地方和自然对身份建构的重要性出发，该研究使用了一个结构方程模型来检验在加拿大的丘吉尔的最后机会旅游。结论对最后机会经验中的动机提供了证据。他们也指出该动机是和相近的个体分享亲近自然的需求，并且成为本地故事的一部分。在此之外，结论显示参观者对地方认同和自然相关性的感觉重要地贡献于他们参与最后机会旅游的动机。该研究的结果对最后机会目的地的管理非常重要，包括那些立法保护重要的自然和文化特色的保护地区。

KEYWORDS:

• Last chance tourism
• place identity
• nature relatedness
• climate change
• protected areas

关键词:

• 最后机会旅游
• 地方认同
• 自然相关性
• 气候变化
• 保护地区

Disclosure statement

The authors receive no financial interest or benefit from the direct application of their research.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada [grant number 430-2012-0441].

Notes on contributors

Mark Groulx

Mark Groulx is an assistant professor in the School of Environmental Planning at the University of Northern British Columbia. His research examines broad questions related to community-based approaches to climate change and sustainability planning. His current research examines the role of 3D environmental visualization in environmental decision-making, and the influence of place attachment and identity on environmental action and management.

Christopher Lemieux

Chris Lemieux is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfred Laurier University. His research examines collaborative institutional decision-making in a resource management context. Current research projects explore the intersection of climate change impacts and tourism motivations, and the role that protected areas play in maintaining individual health and well-being.

Jackie Dawson

Jackie Dawson is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Ottawa, and Canada Research Chair in Environment, Society and Policy. Her research explores multiple themes related to climate change vulnerability in the tourism sector, as well as resilience and economic development in the Arctic.

Emma Stewart

Emma Stewart is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Environment, Society and Design at Lincoln University. Her research examines the intersection of climate change and tourism, including the impacts of cruise tourism in the Arctic.

Olga Yudina

Olga Yudina completed her Master's of environmental studies in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. Her research examined the marketing and portrayal of polar bears in the tourism sector.