Critical Influences on Responsible Tourism Behavior and the Mediating Role of Ambivalent Emotions

This research employed a behavioral model to confirm and elucidate the critical influence of place attachment, destination involvement, and ambivalent emotion on responsible tourism behaviors. A total of 415 questionnaires were collected from tourists visiting Penghu Island in Taiwan. Following data analysis using structural equation modeling, the results suggested that place attachment, destination involvement, and ambivalent emotion critically impact responsible tourism behaviors, and that place attachment is negatively related to ambivalent emotion. In addition, ambivalent emotion was found to mediate the relationship between place attachment and responsible tourism behaviors. Finally, implications for the promotion of sustainable tourism development were thoughtfully provided based on these findings.

Local Community Participation and Responsible Tourism Practices in Ecotourism Destination: A Case of Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah

Recognizing the importance of local community participation in responsible tourism and its benefits, this case study explores and analyses the local community participation and responsible tourism practices at Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, a premier ecotourism destination from the stakeholders’ perspectives. It also describes the perception and attitudes towards tourism development including the key issues and challenges faced by the local communities. The case study adopted multiple methods involving focus-group interviews and survey questionnaires with the respective local communities residing in Lower Kinabatangan. Findings reveal that local communities recognized that Lower Kinabatangan has great potential to be developed as a sustainable ecotourism destination and to generate economic benefit. Despite this, there is limited participation of local communities in ecotourism development and responsible tourism practices among the local communities. The socio-economic demographic of the local community shows that only 42.4% of respondents have work related to tourism activities. Lack of capital and knowledge in tourism activities are the key barriers for local participation in ecotourism development. For Lower Kinabatangan to be a sustainable ecotourism destination, the participation and engagement of the local community and the practices of responsible tourism can no longer be ignored.

Responsible Tourism, Responsible Tourists: What Makes a Responsible Tourist in New Zealand?

<p>The impacts of tourism, both good and bad, are many and diverse. Responsible tourism has been suggested as one way of maximising the positive and minimising the negative impacts of tourism. The tourist's contribution to responsible tourism is somewhat overlooked in the literature and they are often seen as part of the problem rather than as part of the solution. They are also frequently accused of taking a break from responsibility while on holiday. This thesis concentrates on the actions of the tourist, seeking to understand what influences or constrains responsible behaviour while on holiday; to compare some responsible behaviours on holiday with similar behaviours at home. It also explores effective communication to encourage responsible tourist behaviour. The influences and constraints are multiple and complex and a fluid methodology was required, to be sufficiently structured to allow for comparability, while flexible enough to allow for the unexpected. A multi-phase, multi-method iterative research design was used, based on comparable case studies of two locations within New Zealand, Kaikoura and Rotorua. Kaikoura is a fairly recent, developing destination, Rotorua is a mature, established destination. The first phase of research employed in-depth interviews with industry representatives and with tourists and document analysis. The initial stage of the method allowed five actions of responsible behaviour to be identified. These represented responsible behaviours in a range of situations: environmental, cultural, social and economic. These behaviours were then applied in a visitor survey, based on a social psychological framework using Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour. The survey identified instances of responsible behaviour and the influences and constraints on this behaviour. The survey also explored effective means of communication to encourage responsible behaviour, using Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development. Generic definitions of responsible tourism and responsible tourists were developed and five actions representing responsible behaviour were identified which operationalised the definitions from the specific context. Influences and constraints on these responsible behaviours were also identified. These were internal, emanating from the tourist and included culture; values and attitudes; ethics and motivations; and mindfulness and mindlessness, and external, emanating from the destination, which included marketing; visitor management; and information and communication. Awareness was considered an important aspect of responsible tourist behaviour yet few tourists were aware of context specific details. Information, therefore, is considered important in achieving responsible tourist behaviour. Information may be most effective if it appeals to good citizenship and provides a reasoned and positive argument. A three step model was developed to foster responsible tourist behaviour. The first and crucial step is for the destination to set its objectives, then, to market to the most appropriate tourists. The third step is to optimise the responsible behaviour of these tourists once they have arrived, through visitor management which encourages and facilitates responsible behaviour. The New Zealand context provides a good example of this approach.</p>

Responsible Tourism, Responsible Tourists: What Makes a Responsible Tourist in New Zealand?

<p>The impacts of tourism, both good and bad, are many and diverse. Responsible tourism has been suggested as one way of maximising the positive and minimising the negative impacts of tourism. The tourist's contribution to responsible tourism is somewhat overlooked in the literature and they are often seen as part of the problem rather than as part of the solution. They are also frequently accused of taking a break from responsibility while on holiday. This thesis concentrates on the actions of the tourist, seeking to understand what influences or constrains responsible behaviour while on holiday; to compare some responsible behaviours on holiday with similar behaviours at home. It also explores effective communication to encourage responsible tourist behaviour. The influences and constraints are multiple and complex and a fluid methodology was required, to be sufficiently structured to allow for comparability, while flexible enough to allow for the unexpected. A multi-phase, multi-method iterative research design was used, based on comparable case studies of two locations within New Zealand, Kaikoura and Rotorua. Kaikoura is a fairly recent, developing destination, Rotorua is a mature, established destination. The first phase of research employed in-depth interviews with industry representatives and with tourists and document analysis. The initial stage of the method allowed five actions of responsible behaviour to be identified. These represented responsible behaviours in a range of situations: environmental, cultural, social and economic. These behaviours were then applied in a visitor survey, based on a social psychological framework using Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour. The survey identified instances of responsible behaviour and the influences and constraints on this behaviour. The survey also explored effective means of communication to encourage responsible behaviour, using Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development. Generic definitions of responsible tourism and responsible tourists were developed and five actions representing responsible behaviour were identified which operationalised the definitions from the specific context. Influences and constraints on these responsible behaviours were also identified. These were internal, emanating from the tourist and included culture; values and attitudes; ethics and motivations; and mindfulness and mindlessness, and external, emanating from the destination, which included marketing; visitor management; and information and communication. Awareness was considered an important aspect of responsible tourist behaviour yet few tourists were aware of context specific details. Information, therefore, is considered important in achieving responsible tourist behaviour. Information may be most effective if it appeals to good citizenship and provides a reasoned and positive argument. A three step model was developed to foster responsible tourist behaviour. The first and crucial step is for the destination to set its objectives, then, to market to the most appropriate tourists. The third step is to optimise the responsible behaviour of these tourists once they have arrived, through visitor management which encourages and facilitates responsible behaviour. The New Zealand context provides a good example of this approach.</p>

The Relationship Between Responsible Tourism Practice, Destination Sustainability and Quality of Life: Perspective of Marine National Park Communities

An ideal responsible tourism practice has become the most significant role and principle for modern sustainable tourism development concept. Responsible tourism practice promotes better for tourists visit and enhances the quality of life of host communities in the destination by encouraging ethical consumption and production in all stakeholders. This paper attempted to determine the impact of host communities’ perceived responsible tourism practice on perceived destination sustainability and their quality of life as well as the impact of host communities’ perceived destination sustainability on perceived quality of life. The study was conducted with 355 participants from host communities in Haad Chao Mai Marine National Park, Thailand. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results revealed that perceived responsible tourism practice had a significant impact on perceived destination sustainability and perceived quality of life. Additionally, perceived destination sustainability influenced perceived quality of life. As such, embedding responsible tourism practice in destination development plan can enable destination sustainability and better quality of life of host communities and it might make the park successful ecotourism destination.

Investigating the Responsible Tourist Behaviour in Ecotourism Destination: A Study on Saint Martin’s Island in Bangladesh

Though measuring and monitoring tourists' responsible behavior is considered as a key indicator of assuring Responsible Tourism (RT), it is highly ignored in most of the tourist destinations in Bangladesh. Hence, this research aims at investigating how responsibly the tourists behave in the context of an ecotourism destination, Saint Martin Island, Bangladesh. To address the research aim, this paper follows the quantitative research approach where both primary and secondary data are used. The study employed 18 RT behavioral traits under five broad themes to measure Responsible Tourist Behavior (RTB). The findings show that there exists a positive significant relationship between RTB and behavioral trait themes (environmental, economic, cultural, development and promotional, legal and ethical behavioral traits). It is also found that the tourists are very careless about using usual tourist path, local tourist guide, creating noise and wearing local dresses but they play a significant role for the promotion and development of the destination during their visit. Keywords: Responsible Tourism, Responsible Tourist Behavior, Ecotourism Destination, Saint Martin Island, Bangladesh