| Summary: | 碩士 === 中華大學 === 營建管理研究所 === 96 === The purpose of this research is to establish a conceptual model to understand the factors relevant to the provision of interpretive services by whale-watching tour operators. This study has constructed a planned behavior intention model to verify the intention of whale-watching tour operators to provide interpretive services. The model is based on the theory of planned behavior and the papers about the impact of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control variables on behavioral intentions in providing interpretive services during whale-watching.
The study conducted a questionnaire survey to the whale-watching tour operators and some related people on the east coast of Taiwan. 159 valid responses were received. Structural equation modeling (SEM) shows the behavioral intention model developed in this paper to be a good overall fit for the data (fit indices: GFI=0.92, SRMR=0.056, RMSEA=0.068, CFI=0.99)
The model shows that the attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral controls of tour operators all have significant and positive impacts on their behavioral intentions. The structural path diagram for the intention model shows that the most important factor affecting the provision of interpretive services is subjective norms, with a coefficient of 0.57; attitude and perceived behavioral controls are less important, both having coefficients of 0.29 and 0.31 respectively.
According to above results, we therefore recommend that the operators should conduct regular surveys of demand for interpretive services among visitors, and provide necessary and good imterpretion services to them. We anticipate that this will encourage the operators to provide good quality interpretive services, and thus achieve the objective of sustainable development in whale-watching industry.
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