Environmental concern and nature-based tourism participation behavior in China

Striking a balance between economic development and the preservation of the natural environment is a challenging yet important task. This is a particularly pressing issue in the case of China, as the country is the largest and fastest-growing market for tourism. The purpose of this research is to examine Chinese tourist participation in nature-based tourism activities by incorporating levels of tourist environmental concern, measured by a revised New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale, into a tourism constraint-negotiation model. Responses from 409 Chinese tourists show that environmental concern levels will positively affect tourist motivations, which will in turn affect their negotiation strategies and ultimately their participation behaviors. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study are discussed in the context of the tourism literature.