Can Low-Carbon Tourism Awareness Promote Rural and Ecological Development, Create Safe Leisure Spaces, and Increase Public Happiness? A Discussion from the Perspective of Different Stakeholders

Abstract

This study analyzed the effects of low-carbon tourism awareness, attitudes, and behaviors on the development of villages in the catchment area of Erhai Lake in China. We quantitatively analyzed data from 828 valid questionnaires in IBM SPSS 26.0 using Pearson correlation analysis. Thereafter, we interviewed nine respondents, including scholars, seniors, tour guides, and local businessmen, about the results. Finally, we summarized the data and subjected them to multivariate analysis. The results revealed that low-carbon tourism education and promotion increased public recognition of the need to protect the environment by using low-pollution transportation, staying close to home, and buying minimally packaged goods to create a safe leisure environment. However, many tourists are not willing to accept having to increase their budgets for accommodations, food, and living to engage in low-carbon tourism. Therefore, we suggest that increasing incentives to encourage the public to engage in low-carbon tourism and other consumption behaviors may help reduce the damage to the ecological environments of catchment areas, improve the village’s economic development, and promote the sustainable development of the catchment area.