How do recreation experiences affect visitors’ environmentally responsible behavior? Evidence from recreationists visiting ancient trails in Taiwan

Abstract

This study examines the causal relationship between recreation experience, place attachment, environmental attitudes and environmentally responsible behavior as well as the mediating effects of place attachment and the environmental attitudes of tourists at Alangyi Ancient Trail (AAT) and Fish Road Historic Trail (FRHT) in Taiwan. A total of 1,579 usable questionnaires (563 for AAT and 1,016 for FRHT) were collected. The results showed that place attachment had a greater mediation effect than environmental attitudes between recreation experience and environmentally responsible behavior at both study sites. Recreation experience directly, positively and significantly affected both environmental attitudes and place attachment and indirectly affected environmentally responsible behavior. By attempting to develop an original ERB theoretical framework, this study expands our ERB knowledge and provides valuable managerial implications for managers of ancient trails and other nature-based tourism areas to enhance visitors’ ERB, assisting in sustainable ancient trail tourism.

Keywords:

• Environmentally responsible behavior
• recreation experience
• place attachment
• environmental attitudes
• ancient trail

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (Grant No. MOST106-2410-H-212-012-002).

Notes on contributors

Yi Hsien Lin

Dr Yi Hsien Lin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Tourism and Travel Management at Da-Yeh University, Taiwan. His research fields include tourists’ behavior, place attachment and natural reserve area tourism.

Tsung Hung Lee

Dr Tsung Hung Lee is a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School of Leisure and Exercise Studies at National Yunlin University of Science & Technology, Taiwan. His research interests include tourist behavior, ecotourism, and sustainable tourism. He has authored or co-authored journal articles on leisure, recreation, and tourism studies in Taiwan and internationally. Dr. Lee serves as an editorial committee member of several international referred journals in leisure and tourism. His paper has been selected as a winning paper in the prestigious Emerald Citations of Excellence for 2016 and is listed as “Highly Cited Paper” in Essential Science Indicators of Thomson Reuters.