Role of deindividuation between perceived crowding and tourist behaviors: Moderating effect of environmental knowledge

Date

2020-05-28

Authors

Lin, Yuxuan

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Guelph

Abstract

Destination crowding has emerged as a serious issue for tourist sites and visitors alike. The deviant behaviors accompanied by crowding not only affect tourists’ travel experience but also damage the environment of the destinations. This study was then designed to examine the relationship between two dimensional perceived crowding (spatial and human crowding) and two types of tourist behaviors (pro-environmental and deviant behavior) as well as to explore the role of deindividuation and environmental knowledge on the stated relationships. The data comprised responses from 313 Chinese domestic tourists who have visited the Great Wall most recently in 2019. Using SPSS and AMOS, the empirical findings indicate that deviant behavior was significantly stimulated by both dimensions of perceived crowding, while pro-environmental behavior was indirectly restricted by perceived crowding, mediated by deindividuation. Perceived crowding, both spatial and human, significantly and positively influenced deindividuation, leading to a reduction of self-awareness. The level of environmental knowledge helped people make better behavioral decisions and diminished the negative effects of deindividuation on tourist behaviors. Overall, these findings offered an in-depth understanding of tourist behavior in crowding situations through deindividuation and provided theoretical and practical implications for sustainable tourism and destination management.

Description

Keywords

perceived crowding, tourist behavior, deindividuation, environmental knowledge, deviant tourist behavior, pro-environmental tourist behavior

Citation