When and how to encourage tourists to be more responsible : essential issues for natural world heritage site post-disaster restorations

Abstract

Conserving the restored, yet fragile, World Nature Heritage Sites has become increasingly important in the aftermath of unforeseen disasters. Sociocultural barriers often pose greater challenges to natural protection than biophysical-technical obstacles do. This research comprised four studies. The first interviewed stakeholders (N = 25) to investigate key factors in protecting restored natural wonders. The second (N = 412) and third (N = 275) explored how tourists’ sense of awe mediates the relationship between perceived authenticity and environmentally responsible behavior intention in two scenarios. The fourth was a field quasi-experiment (N = 501), examining how the timing and framing of information provided to tourists serve to mitigate the potential broken window effect in sites under restoration and encourage more responsible behaviors. This research elucidates the vital role of awe in shaping tourist experiences at restored natural sites and introduces time perspectives and framing strategies to help site managers safeguard natural heritage sites effectively.