Tourists’ attitude and willingness to pay on conservation efforts: evidence from the west Himalayan eco-tourism sites

The perception of tourists regarding conservation efforts, as demonstrated by their willingness to pay, plays a crucial role in the conservation and protection of destination areas. This information is essential for decision-makers as it enables them to formulate and implement policies to safeguard these areas. This study examines the impact of tourists’ attitude, responsible behavior, emotional affinity, environmental knowledge, and environmental values on willingness to pay in the protected regions. The research was conducted in the Kashmir Valley, a geographical area in the northern region of India known for its significant influx of tourists. In the year 2022, the Kashmir Valley attracted approximately 2.67 million visitors. A sample size of 400 surveys was obtained from the designated eco-tourism sites using the convenience sampling method. The measurement model was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis. A set of hypotheses was formulated, and the conceptual research model was tested using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. It has been observed from the results that all the hypotheses were accepted. It was found that the two variables of responsible behavior and emotional affinity strongly impacted the tourists’ willingness to pay. On the other hand, the impact of attitude, environmental knowledge, and environmental values on the willingness to pay was low. Policymakers should consider these findings when developing policies and strategies to incentivize effective saving practices in the destination region. We conclude that visitors' psychological attributes have been found to influence their willingness to pay significantly.