Examining Chinese Tourists' Nature-based Tourism Participation Behavior: Incorporating Environmental Concern Into a Constraint-negotiation Model

Abstract

Finding the balance between economic development and preservation of the natural environment is a challenging yet important task. This is a particularly pressing issue in the case of China, because it is the largest and fastest growing market for tourism. The purpose of this research is to examine Chinese tourists' participation in nature-based, tourism activities by incorporating tourists' environmental concern—measured by a revised New Environmental Paradigm scale—into a tourism constraint-negotiation model. The responses of 409 Chinese tourists show that environmental concern will positively affect tourists' motivation, which, in turn, will affect their negotiation strategy and ultimately their participation behavior. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study are discussed in the context of the tourism literature.