IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i11p8668-d1156899.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Structural Relationship between Ecotourism Motivation, Satisfaction, Place Attachment, and Environmentally Responsible Behavior Intention in Nature-Based Camping

Author

Listed:
  • Kyungsik Kim

    (Department of Sport & Leisure Studies, Hoseo University, Asan-si 314-99, Republic of Korea)

  • Yongdi Wang

    (Department of Sport, Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology, Loudi 417099, China)

  • Jianmin Shi

    (Physical Education Department, College of Basic Education, Beijing College of Finance and Commerce, Beijing 101101, China)

  • Wangda Guo

    (Department of Sport & Leisure Studies, Hoseo University, Asan-si 314-99, Republic of Korea)

  • Zixiang Zhou

    (Department of Sport & Leisure Studies, Hoseo University, Asan-si 314-99, Republic of Korea)

  • Zhaoyong Liu

    (Department of Sport & Leisure Studies, Hoseo University, Asan-si 314-99, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

This study aims to make an investigation on the relationship between ecotourism motivation (EM), satisfaction (SA), place attachment (PA), and environmentally responsible behavior intention (ER) based on the analysis of camping tourism andstudy the mediating roles of SA and PA in the relationship between EM and ER. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted on 400 camping tourists who visited the Yunnan Province of China within the last year. The distribution of survey questionnaires range from 12 February 2023–24 February 2023. The results reveal that EM positively influences SA, PA, and ER, whereas, although SA positively impacts PA, it does not significantly affect ER. In contrast, PA positively affects ER. Furthermore, PA has a positive mediating impact on the relationship between EM and ER, whereas, SA does not significantly mediate this relationship. Finally, SA and PA act as chain mediators between EM and ER. The findings contribute to the tourism literature by shedding light on the complex relationships between EM, SA, PA, and ER in the context of camping tourism, thereby, enhancing tourist satisfaction and promoting environmentally responsible behavior, thus, contributing to the growth of a sustainable camping industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyungsik Kim & Yongdi Wang & Jianmin Shi & Wangda Guo & Zixiang Zhou & Zhaoyong Liu, 2023. "Structural Relationship between Ecotourism Motivation, Satisfaction, Place Attachment, and Environmentally Responsible Behavior Intention in Nature-Based Camping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8668-:d:1156899
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8668/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8668/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rafael Robina-Ramírez & Jose-Amelio Medina-Merodio & Libertad Moreno-Luna & Héctor V. Jiménez-Naranjo & Marcelo Sánchez-Oro, 2021. "Safety and Health Measures for COVID-19 Transition Period in the Hotel Industry in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-19, January.
    2. Ju Hyoung Han & Min Jae Lee & Yun-Seop Hwang, 2016. "Tourists’ Environmentally Responsible Behavior in Response to Climate Change and Tourist Experiences in Nature-Based Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-14, July.
    3. Christopher A. Craig & Siyao Ma & Ismail Karabas, 2021. "COVID-19, camping and construal level theory," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(20), pages 2855-2859, October.
    4. Yan Hong & Gangwei Cai & Zhoujin Mo & Weijun Gao & Lei Xu & Yuanxing Jiang & Jinming Jiang, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Tourist Satisfaction with B&B in Zhejiang, China: An Importance–Performance Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Greg D. Simpson & Daminda P. Sumanapala & Nilakshi W.K. Galahitiyawe & David Newsome & Priyan Perera, 2020. "Exploring Motivation, Satisfaction and Revisit Intention of Ecolodge Visitors," Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, vol. 26(2), pages 359-379, December.
    6. Elizabeth A. K. Jones & Amal K. Mitra & Azad R. Bhuiyan, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health in Adolescents: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-9, March.
    7. Conrado Carrascosa-López & Mauricio Carvache-Franco & José Mondéjar-Jiménez & Wilmer Carvache-Franco, 2021. "Understanding Motivations and Segmentation in Ecotourism Destinations. Application to Natural Parks in Spanish Mediterranean Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Anson T. H. Ma & Alice S. Y. Chow & Lewis T. O. Cheung & Karen M. Y. Lee & Shuwen Liu, 2018. "Impacts of Tourists’ Sociodemographic Characteristics on the Travel Motivation and Satisfaction: The Case of Protected Areas in South China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-21, September.
    9. Xianglan Chen & Yuanyuan Hao & Yachao Duan & Qinghong Zhang & Xiaoli Hu, 2023. "Gender and Culture Differences in Consumers’ Travel Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    10. Antonín Vaishar & Milada Šťastná, 2022. "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural tourism in Czechia Preliminary considerations," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(2), pages 187-191, January.
    11. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Marival Segarra-Oña & Conrado Carrascosa-López, 2019. "Segmentation by Motivation in Ecotourism: Application to Protected Areas in Guayas, Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, January.
    12. Sigala, Marianna, 2020. "Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 312-321.
    13. Di Wu & Caiyun Shen & Enxu Wang & Yaoyao Hou & Jun Yang, 2019. "Impact of the Perceived Authenticity of Heritage Sites on Subjective Well-Being: A Study of the Mediating Role of Place Attachment and Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Priscila E. Luján Vera & Joyce Mamani Cornejo & María Verónica Seminario Morales & Rosse Marie Esparza-Huamanchumo, 2025. "Motivation, Satisfaction, Place Attachment, and Return Intention to Natural Destinations: A Structural Analysis of Ayabaca Moorlands, Peru," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-22, August.
    2. Ladan Rokni & Suh-hee Choi, 2024. "Place Attachment Expressed by Hosts and Guests Visiting Friends and Relatives and Implications for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Miguel Orden-Mejía & Tahani Hassan & Orly Carvache-Franco & Wilmer Carvache-Franco, 2025. "Exploring the Relationship Between Motivations, Satisfaction, and Loyalty: Insights from the Galápagos Islands, a World Heritage Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Xiaofei Fang & Pengfei Tai & Fugao Jiang, 2024. "Study on the Spatial Layout and Influencing Factors of Campsites in the Yellow River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Yixuan Fu & Jun Zhao, 2024. "Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand Ecotourism Behavior: The Role of Human–Land Coordination and Self-Mastery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-21, October.
    6. Amalia Rosmadi & Wuzhong Zhou & Yuanyuan Xu, 2024. "Meaningful Gamification in Ecotourism: A Study on Fostering Awareness for Positive Ecotourism Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-28, September.
    7. Nengjie Qiu & Jiawei Wu & Haibo Li & Chen Pan & Jiaming Guo, 2025. "Relationship Between Perceived Authenticity, Place Attachment, and Tourists’ Environmental Behavior in Industrial Heritage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Cao Chaoyi & Liu Huijuan & Wang Zhenbin, 2025. "Influencing factors of tourist loyalty in China camping destinations based on Expectation Confirmation Theory: the mediating role of satisfaction and well-being," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    9. Cevat Tosun & Yasin Soylu & Lütfi Atay & Dallen J. Timothy, 2023. "Environmentally Friendly Behaviors of Recreationists and Natural Area Tourists: A Comparative Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Torabi, Zabih-Allah & Rezvani, Mohammad Reza & Hall, C. Michael & Allam, Zaheer, 2023. "On the post-pandemic travel boom: How capacity building and smart tourism technologies in rural areas can help - evidence from Iran," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    2. Libertad Moreno-Luna & Rafael Robina-Ramírez & Marcelo Sánchez-Oro Sánchez & José Castro-Serrano, 2021. "Tourism and Sustainability in Times of COVID-19: The Case of Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Ziwen Liu & Scott Allan Orr & Pakhee Kumar & Josep Grau-Bove, 2023. "Measuring the impact of COVID-19 on heritage sites in the UK using social media data," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Georgios Lazaridis & Dimitris Panaretos & Antonia Matalas, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Food-Related Behaviour of Tourists Visiting Greece," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-22, September.
    5. Amra Čaušević, 2023. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Travel Behavior and Travel Mode Preferences: The Example of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-32, July.
    6. Jan Zawadka & Jarosław Uglis & Magdalena Kozera-Kowalska & Anna Jęczmyk & Joanna Pietrzak-Zawadka & Monika Małgorzata Wojcieszak-Zbierska, 2023. "An Empirical Assessment of Students’ Tourist Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Gender Perspective: Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    8. Garaus, Marion & Hudáková, Melánia, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourists’ air travel intentions: The role of perceived health risk and trust in the airline," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    9. Gheorghe Cristian Popescu & Monica Popescu, 2022. "COVID-19 pandemic and agriculture in Romania: effects on agricultural systems, compliance with restrictions and relations with authorities," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(2), pages 557-567, April.
    10. Liliana Hidalgo-Padilla & Ana L. Vilela-Estrada & Mauricio Toyama & Sumiko Flores & Daniela Ramirez-Meneses & Mariana Steffen & Paul Heritage & Catherine Fung & Stefan Priebe & Francisco Diez-Canseco, 2022. "Using Arts-Based Methodologies to Understand Adolescent and Youth Manifestations, Representations, and Potential Causes of Depression and Anxiety in Low-Income Urban Settings in Peru," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Philipp Wassler & Giacomo Del Chiappa & Thi Hong Hai Nguyen & Giancarlo Fedeli & Nigel L. Williams, 2022. "Increasing vaccination intention in pandemic times: a social marketing perspective," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2022(1), pages 37-58, March.
    12. László Könnyid & Zsuzsanna Váradi & Zsombor Nagy & Noémi Ilyés & Orsolya H. Horváth, 2022. "The Changes in the Demographic Characteristics and Spatial Structure of Tourism Demand in the West Balaton Region’s Spa Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-14, August.
    13. Francesco Demaria & Stefano Vicari, 2023. "Adolescent Distress: Is There a Vaccine? Social and Cultural Considerations during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-11, January.
    14. Samuel Raine & Amy Liu & Joel Mintz & Waseem Wahood & Kyle Huntley & Farzanna Haffizulla, 2020. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Outcomes: Social Determination of Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-16, November.
    15. Zehra Ece Serman & Julian Sims, 2023. "Source Credibility Theory: SME Hospitality Sector Blog Posting During the Covid-19 Pandemic," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 2317-2334, December.
    16. Erica Mingotto & Michele Tamma, 2021. "Covid-19 and recovery strategies. Some insights from an ongoing exploratory study in the Italian hospitality industry: the case of the historic city centre of Venice," Working Papers 02, Venice School of Management - Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    17. Yeongbae Choe & Hyesun Kim & Youngjoon Choi, 2022. "Willingness to pay for travel insurance as a risk reduction behavior: health-related risk perception after the outbreak of COVID-19," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 16(3), pages 445-467, September.
    18. Chung-Wei Kuo, 2021. "Can We Return to Our Normal Life When the Pandemic Is under Control? A Preliminary Study on the Influence of COVID-19 on the Tourism Characteristics of Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    19. repec:ers:journl:v:xxiv:y:2021:i:special4:p:227-236 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Shiqi Zhang & Tianwei Sun & Yuan Lu, 2023. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Tourists’ Risk Perceptions: Tourism Policies’ Mediating Role in Sustainable and Resilient Recovery in the New Normal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, January.
    21. Chaojun Li & Xinjia Huang, 2022. "How Does COVID-19 Risk Perception Affect Wellness Tourist Intention: Findings on Chinese Generation Z," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8668-:d:1156899. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.