Journal de recherche touristique et d'hôtellerie

Approaching to Sustainable Mass Tourism-Evidence from Tourist of National Scenic Areas in Taiwan

Kuo-shuan Kuo and Molly Chien-jung Huang

In this study, the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale is used to evaluate the influence of environmental attitudes on tourist behaviour at National Scenic Areas in Taiwan to explore possible modifications to the behaviour of mass tourists once at their destinations. Survey respondents were categorised as ‘vandals, ‘mass tourists’ or ‘proenvironmental tourists’ based on differences in their environmental behaviour. The mass tourists received high scores for ecologicalmanagement behaviour, indicating their potential to act as environmentally friendly tourists. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that NEP orientation affected behavioural intention and behavioural intention affected behaviour frequency. However, the influence of NEP orientation on behaviour frequency was fully mediated by behavioural intention. These results contribute to demonstrate the importance of the NEP on the enhancement of environmental concern and the specific predictor to a given behaviour when specific pro-environmental behaviour is promoted.