IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i2p713-d1569440.html

The Effects of Tourism Motivation and Perceived Value on Tourists’ Behavioral Intention Toward Forest Health Tourism: The Moderating Role of Attitude

Author

Listed:
  • Yujiao Zhao

    (School of Economics and Management, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China)

  • Jun Yang

    (School of Economics and Management, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China)

  • Juanru Song

    (School of Economics and Management, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China)

  • Yiqing Lu

    (School of Economics and Management, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China)

Abstract

In the context of the accelerating aging of the global population, there is an increasing public concern for health and wellness, accompanied by a marked rise in apprehension regarding sub-health conditions. Concurrently, forest health tourism, as a nascent form of tourism, is widely acknowledged as a pivotal avenue allowing the tourism industry to pursue a green transformation. Previous studies have explored the links between motivating, perceiving, and behaving. However, little research has examined how tourism motivation might influence the long-term sustainability of forest health tourism sites. Therefore, this study builds on the SOR theoretical framework and uses SEM to clarify the effects of tourism motivation and perceived value on forest health tourism behavior. Meanwhile, the research model incorporates attitudes as a moderating variable to ascertain their impact. A sample of 527 valid tourists from China was analyzed and the results demonstrate the following: (1) entertainment motivation and leisure motivation have a significant positive effect on forest health tourism behavioral intention; (2) prestige motivation and cultural motivation do not have a significant positive effect on forest health tourism behavioral intention; (3) perceived value mediates between entertainment, prestige, cultural, and leisure motivations and forest health tourism behavioral intention; (4) attitude moderates the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intention in forest health tourism. These insights offer a theoretical framework for industry stakeholders seeking to attract tourists and pursue environmentally friendly, sustainable growth in forest wellness tourism. This study also has important practical implications on how forest health tourism is promoted and managed.

Suggested Citation

  • Yujiao Zhao & Jun Yang & Juanru Song & Yiqing Lu, 2025. "The Effects of Tourism Motivation and Perceived Value on Tourists’ Behavioral Intention Toward Forest Health Tourism: The Moderating Role of Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-27, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:713-:d:1569440
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/713/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/713/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiang, Lei & Wu, Huazhang & Song, Yang, 2022. "Diversified demand for health tourism matters: From a perspective of the intra-industry trade," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    2. Jianwei Qian & Xue Li, 2024. "Perceived Value, Place Identity, and Behavioral Intention: An Investigation on the Influence Mechanism of Sustainable Development in Rural Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Feifei Yang & Rajenthyran Ayavoo & Norazlin Ab Aziz, 2023. "Exploring Students’ Push and Pull Motivations to Visit Rural Educational Tourism Sites in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-23, October.
    4. Patricia L. Mokhtarian & Ilan Salomon & Matan E. Singer, 2015. "What Moves Us? An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Reasons for Traveling," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 250-274, May.
    5. Vivina Carreira & M. Rosario González-Rodríguez & M. Carmen Díaz-Fernández, 2022. "The relevance of motivation, authenticity and destination image to explain future behavioural intention in a UNESCO World Heritage Site," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 650-673, February.
    6. Yang Si & Hongzhi Guan & Yuchao Cui, 2019. "Research on the Choice Behavior of Taxis and Express Services Based on the SEM-Logit Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Mohammadbashir Sedighi & Hamideh Parsaeiyan & Yashar Araghi, 2021. "An Empirical Study of Intention to Continue Using of Digital Ride-hailing Platforms," The Review of Socionetwork Strategies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 489-515, November.
    2. Enayat Mirzaei & Dominique Mignot, 2021. "An Empirical Analysis of Mode Choice Decision for Utilitarian and Hedonic Trips: Evidence from Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, June.
    3. Rezaei, Nazanin & Todd-Blick, Annika & Fujita, K. Sydny & Popovich, Natalie & Needell, Zachary & Poliziani, Cristian & Caicedo, Juan David & Guirado, Carlos & Spurlock, C. Anna, 2024. "At the nexus of equity and transportation modeling: Assessing accessibility through the Individual Experienced Utility-Based Synthesis (INEXUS) metric," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Mirzaei, Enayat & Heidarzadeh, Ehsan & Hashemi, Amin & Dowlatshahi, Mohammad Bagher & Kheyroddin, Reza, 2025. "Impact analysis of positive utility and built environment on car use for non-work trips: an ensemble approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    5. Meiqi Zhou & Huasong Luo & Juhua Hong & Dashuai Gao & Yukun Shen & Maolin Liang, 2023. "Establishment of a value evaluation system for health and wellness tourism resources: Reflections on China’s official tourism resource evaluation criteria," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(7), pages 1-16, July.
    6. Tao, Sui & Cheng, Long & He, Sylvia & Witlox, Frank, 2023. "Examining the non-linear effects of transit accessibility on daily trip duration: A focus on the low-income population," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    7. Nakamura, Eri & Shibayama, Takeru, 2025. "Interventions for behavioural changes under travel hindrances: Information provision and economic compensation in pandemic, congestion and extreme weather," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    8. Shuting Tao & Xiaoyu Jin & Mengke Jia & Shuaige Wang, 2025. "Why Do Tourists Wear Hanfu to Travel? Exploring the Antecedents of Tourists’ Behavioral Intention," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, December.
    9. Timothée Cuignet & Camille Perchoux & Geoffrey Caruso & Olivier Klein & Sylvain Klein & Basile Chaix & Yan Kestens & Philippe Gerber, 2020. "Mobility among older adults: Deconstructing the effects of motility and movement on wellbeing," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 383-401, February.
    10. Alexander Bigazzi & Robin Lindsey, 2019. "A utility-based bicycle speed choice model with time and energy factors," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 995-1009, June.
    11. Jiachen Li & Mengru Xie & Mengfei Yu & Young-joo Ahn, 2024. "Understanding Tourists’ Social Networking Site (SNS) Intention with Regards to World Heritage Sites: The Role of Motivation and Overall Image," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.
    12. Poudel, Niranjan & Singleton, Patrick A., 2024. "Willingness to pay for changes in travel time and work time: A stated choice experiment of US commuters," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    13. Jian Chen & Xiaotong Wu & Yi Luo & Keliang Liu, 2025. "The impact mechanism of social network information on tourism travel: an empirical analysis based on internet celebrity cities," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Tang, Chor-Foon & Suksonghong, Karoon, 2025. "The asymmetric effects of medical tourism and information technology on economic growth: evidence from panel quantile regression," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).
    15. Rivetti, Francesca & Rossi, Carla & Lucadamo, Antonio, 2024. "The formation of attendee loyalty at cultural festivals. What role for knowledge and authenticity?," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    16. Užar Dubravka & Filipović Jelena, 2023. "Understanding Consumers’ Intention to Purchase GI Cheeses Based on the SEM-Logit Model," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 18(2), pages 87-96, December.
    17. van Wee, Bert & Mokhtarian, Patricia, 2023. "Escape theory: Explaining a negative motivation to travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    18. Shirgaokar, Manish, 2019. "Operationalizing gendered transportation preferences: A psychological framework incorporating time constraints and risk aversion," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 10-18.
    19. Lin Zhou & Xue Liu & Wei Wei, 2025. "The Emotional Foundations of Value Co-Creation in Sustainable Cultural Heritage Tourism: Insights into the Motivation–Experience–Behavior Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-22, July.
    20. Hui Zhang & Li Zhang & Yanjun Liu & Lele Zhang, 2023. "Understanding Travel Mode Choice Behavior: Influencing Factors Analysis and Prediction with Machine Learning Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-20, July.

    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:17:y:2025:i:2:p:713-:d:1569440. 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.