Tourist Attitudes in Natural Environments

Abstract

One of the fundamental psychological concepts which is central to understanding the tourist experience is that of attitudes. While previous chapters employ this concept widely, a specific discussion of recent research in this area which might illuminate some tourist related issues has been reserved for the current chapter. It is argued here that a clearer discussion of attitude research is possible if one has a specific focus. Visitor attitudes to the natural environment will be emphasised in this chapter as one such focus. It is also important to acknowledge that the attitude research of the last decade does not preclude an emphasis on tourist behaviour in national park and related settings, since a fundamental concern of the literature has been that of the strength of the attitude- behaviour link. The kinds of issues to be addressed in this chapter include the following questions. What kinds of cognitive processes are involved in attitude change? What are the likely influences on tourist attitudes to outdoor settings such as national parks? Are there links between tourists’ behaviour in a setting and their attitudes prior to visiting that setting? And, significantly, what sort of links exist among psychological concepts (such as mindfulness and attribution processes) already discussed in this volume and the research on attitudes.