The case of tourists visiting ice and snow tourism in Xuexiang : a topological psychology on tourism motivation

Abstract

Different tourism motivations have different effects on tourists' behavior and satisfaction. This also reflects in Ice and Snow tourism. This study chooses Xuexiang, which is a famous ice and snow tourism destination in China, to study the relationships amongst different types of motivations (push individual motivation, social environment motivation, physical environment motivation, and environmental concern) on the three outcome variables namely environmental support to Xuexiang destination, service & facilities perception, and tourists' satisfaction. Underpinned by the Lewin's topological psychology, the study aims to identify the motivations that influence tourists' environmental support to Xuexiang. The results of the study will be beneficial to promoting the sustainable development of Xuexiang. By understanding what motivation factors lead to the environmental support behavior, and what motivation factors lead to satisfaction, the study will be able to gain more insights into the reasons why tourists come to Xuexiang and can identify the specific types of motivation that promote the behaviors which support the environment. This will provide a good implication for managing tourist segmentation and tourism development to better make Xuexiang a sustainable destination. This study provides a new theoretical insight and directions for the study of tourism motivation from the perspective of topological psychology, so as to enhance the chance that Xuexiang can promote tourists' awareness of protecting the ecological environment. IMPLICATION OF THE THESIS: Suggestions for further research 1. The in-depth exploration of how to achieve the pro-environmental transformation of tourist behavior would be beneficial to achieving the sustainable development of Xuexiang based on the current findings. 2. To gain an in-depth understanding of tourists' psychology and behavior, future investigations should employ a qualitative or mixed-method approaches to explore the environmental support component in more detail. This would be beneficial to provide an effective behavior basis for sustainable development of tourism industry.