Exploration of Visitor’s Carbon Footprint and Low-carbon Travel Behavior Intentions：A Case study on Pinglin Township

• Main Authors: Shih-Hsien Chen, 陳世賢
• Other Authors: Su-Hsin Lee
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/35639334598473740085

碩士 === 逢甲大學 === 景觀與遊憩研究所 === 97 === Abstract The environmental issues about global warming needs whole world''s people working together to solve the climate change. The number of domestic visitor is increasing, the needs for the transportation, consumption and tourists behavior may caused the increased of the total emissions and carbon dioxide, therefore, it is necessary for people to change their travel behavior and care more the environment. From the Environmental behavior studies, the scholars believed that the theory of planned behavior provides researchers the measurement to predict the tourist activities and the behavior that may affect the environment thus visitors need to be informed and guidance which behavior to avoid. The purposes of this study ere (1) Using the Theory of Planned Behavior as visitors construct and low-carbon travel behavior as structural model and examination models of various beliefs and attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavior control to examine low-carbon travel behavior intentions; (2) To compare the carbon footprints of different individuals in the structural model if there are significant differences; (3) Individual attribute of visitors in the model variables if there are significant differences. In this study the questionnaire based on Ajzen’ theory of planned behavior, data were collected at Taipei, Pinglin Township in the low carbon tourist destination, for four days on May 30, 31 and June 6, 7 2009, survey were conducted using random sampling on site locations to visitors in the areas, from a total of 415 questionnaires, resulting a total of 327 usable questionnaires with response rate of 78.80%. In this study, first, descriptive analysis were conducted to described the individual attribute of visitors and second, structural equation analysis (SEM) was conducted to examine potential effect of low-carbon behavior intention model on latent variable and to compare the differences of the carbon footprints in the structure of the model and finally, t test analysis, one way ANOVA analysis of individual attribute from different tourist to test the significant differences. In this study the original model were tested and adjusted resulting revised model and the final revised model was acceptable to obtain as indicators, the results showed (1) The attitude of the low-carbon travel behavior intentions has highest significantly affect, followed by perceived behavioral control, and attitude toward the behavior; while the beliefs of the attitude, perceived behavior control and the subjective norms, the effects was also high, the indirect impact on behavioral intention resulting medium-low effect. (2) Visitors’ carbon footprint were divided by the Mean into two categories, low-carbon footprint and high-carbon footprint, for low-carbon footprint the effects in behavior intention model is from perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and attitudes; and for the high carbon footprint the highest effects are behavior, subjective norms and their perceived behavior control had no effect; the belief in the two categories of visitors, from attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, the effect were higher, generally, high-carbon footprint is lower and the low-carbon footprint is higher. (3) The ANOVA analysis for the differences between the individual attributes of tourists, age, education level, the latent variable of traveling in a low-carbon travel behavior patterns, shows significant differences in different situations. This study suggests that in the future need implementation of the rule, policy and education of low-carbon travel behavior, should more emphasis on improving the visitors’ attitudes and perceived behavior control, subjective norms, supplemented, thereby increasing the intention of low-carbon travel behavior; the Government can also hold more low-carbon tourism activities in order to increase the tourists’ participation and consequently improve the general effectiveness; so the carbon footprint of tourist in daily life and individual attributes have assistance and choice to engage in the tourism activities. Because of the limitation of this study recommended that future research could explore the actual behavior of tourists or comparison of cross-regional differences.