Tourists really do behave responsibly toward the environment in Camiguin Province, Philippines

Abstract

Camiguin Province is the second smallest island province in the Philippines. Its environment is essential relative to other typical island destinations for its ecological diversity, numerous marine protected areas and wildlife endemicity and for harboring an ASEAN Heritage Park. The expansion of tourism on the island attracts a great number of tourists, thereby increasing the scope for potential forms of behavior as well as the range of potential environmental impact. This study focuses on understanding Camiguin tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior (ERB), particularly its determinants, namely, environmental attitude, knowledge and value, as well as the role of local stakeholders in influencing such behavior on an island tourism destination. Using a convergent mixed method approach, the study used survey samples comprising 303 tourists and 22 qualitative in-depth interviews of local stakeholders. Descriptive analysis showed that tourists have positive self-perceived environmental attitude, knowledge and value as well as ERB. Correlation analysis revealed that tourists’ environmental attitude, knowledge and value have significant effect on tourists’ ERB, with environmental attitude having the highest coefficient. Meanwhile, interviews with local stakeholders showed that tourists behave favorably toward the island’s environment and played a significant role in influencing tourists’ ERB. The study’s contribution to the existing literature provides a novel approach to examining ERB from the perspectives of the tourists and the different stakeholders on the island. Ultimately, the study’s findings have implications in developing strategies toward creating a favorable impact on the island’s environment.

摘要

卡米圭因省是菲律宾倒数第二小的岛屿省份。它的环境相对于其他典型的岛屿目的地来说是至关重要的, 因为它的生态多样性, 拥有众多的海洋保护区和具有地方特色的野生动物, 以及拥有一个东盟遗产公园。该岛旅游业的扩大吸引了大量游客, 从而扩大了潜在行为形式的范围以及潜在环境影响的范围。本研究的重点是了解卡米吉因游客的环境责任行为(ERB), 特别是其决定因素, 即环境态度、知识和价值, 以及当地利益相关者在影响海岛旅游目的地这种行为中的作用。本研究采用集聚的混合方法, 采集了由303名游客组成的调查样本和22位当地利益相关者的定性深度访谈。描述性分析表明, 游客对环境的自我感知态度、知识和价值以及环境责任行为都是积极的。相关分析显示, 游客的环境态度、知识和价值对游客的环境责任行为有显著影响, 其中环境态度的系数最高。与此同时, 对当地利益相关者的访谈表明, 游客对岛上的环境表现良好, 对游客的环境责任行为有重要影响。本研究对现有文献的贡献提供了一种从游客和岛上不同利益相关者的角度来研究环境责任行为的新方法。最终, 这项研究的结果对于制定对该岛环境产生有利影响的策略具有一定的意义。

Keywords:

• Environmentally responsible behavior
• Philippines
• island tourism
• tourist behavior
• stakeholder theory

关键词:

• 环境责任行为
• 菲律宾
• 岛屿旅游
• 旅游行为
• 利益相关者理论

Acknowledgements

The lead author would like to express gratitude to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) - Philippines for the support provided in the study. All authors are grateful to Rosalyn Sontillanosa for providing the map.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary Stephanie E. King-Chan

Mary Stephanie E. King-Chan is a faculty of tourism management at the Institute of Arts and Sciences, Camiguin Polytechnic State College (Philippines). Her research interests are focused on tourism-related studies specifically topics on sustainable tourism development, ecotourism, socio cultural and environmental impacts of tourism.

Robert Charles G. Capistrano

Robert Charles G. Capistrano is Lecturer at Arizona State University – Hainan University Joint International Tourism College based in Hainan, China. His research foci and teaching interests include ecotourism, tourism marketing, family tourism, visiting friends and relatives travel, gender and tourism, cross-cultural studies in tourism, and tourism and migration. He has recently facilitated the drafting of the ASEAN Gender and Tourism Framework.

Emma Lina F. Lopez

Emma Lina F. Lopez is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines – Asian Institute of Tourism. Her research interests are quantitative research methods in tourism studies, strategic management, and financial management.