Residents’ pro-environmental behaviors at tourism destinations: the role of human-nature symbiosis, pro-environmental climate and identity resilience
研究旅游地居民亲环境行为，发现人与自然共生、亲环境氛围和身份韧性正向影响行为意愿，激励措施能缩小意愿与实际行动的差距。
As destination residents are both stewards of the local environment and daily participants in place-based socio-ecological interactions, their engagement in pro-environmental behaviors has emerged as a key factor in supporting destination sustainability. This study investigates destination residents’ pro-environmental behaviors by exploring the concepts of human-nature symbiosis (e.g. nature relatedness and place attachment), pro-environmental climate (e.g. family and social pro-environmental orientations) and identity processes (e.g. identity resilience). In addition, it explores the gap between destination residents’ pro-environmental intentions and actual behaviors and empirically tests the moderating role of incentive measures in narrowing this gap. Based on survey data from China, the world’s largest domestic tourism market, the results indicate that nature relatedness, place attachment, family pro-environmental orientation and social pro-environmental orientation are significantly and positively associated with destination residents’ pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Identity resilience strengthens the positive relationships between these factors and pro-environmental behavioral intentions. A disparity persists between destination residents’ pro-environmental intentions and their actual actions; however, incentive measures can help bridge this gap by promoting the translation of intentions into actions. By adopting the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior as its analytical framework, this study extends beyond conventional models such as the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model, offering a more holistic account of the psychological, social and contextual complexities faced by destination residents.