تجربه های گردشگری و پارک های تالاب : ژجیانگ، چین

Following an experiential framework, this research aims to disentangle the factors influencing tourist experiences in wetland parks in the context of an emerging economy. Specifically, this study tests the causal relationships among service quality, tourist experience, and revisit intention in relation to three popular wetland parks in Zhejiang, China. Consequently a series of on-site visitor surveys using a structured questionnaire are conducted in three wetland parks, resulting in 267 useful responses. The resultant data reveal five dimensions of service quality and three dimensions of tourist experience. The structural model shows that tourist experience is a mediator between service quality and revisit intention. Apart from related personnel, the service quality factors are only able to influence post-trip behavioral intention through aesthetic experience and action experience. Further, the implications of the findings for experiential marketing and sustainable development are discussed.

To achieve the conservation and wise use of wetlands, the Chinese government has established 550 wetland protected areas and 100 of them are developed into the experimental units of wetland parks since the early 1990s. By 2010, the total number of national-level wetland parks reached 68, containing 38 national wetland parks and 30 national urban wetland parks. Majority of the wetland parks are located in the Eastern provinces such as Shangdong, Jiangsu, Hebei and Zhejiang (Wang and Lu, 2009 and Wang et al., 2010). While most of these parks are established for protecting the wetland ecosystem, some are promoted as wetland ecotourism destinations. These parks encourage awareness of the natural environment through various educational programs and outdoor recreation activities. Indeed, wetland parks have been identified as an alternative travel destination for domestic tourists in general and a major recreational space for urban dwellers in particular. The burgeoning demand on wetland parks has promoted tourism scholars to look at critical issues in service delivery. Due to the rapid pace of urbanization in China, the number of visits to wetland parks has increased significantly, which could negatively affect wetland resources. It is thus imperative that wetland park operators find the best solutions for enhancing the tourist experience without compromising the viability of natural resources. Although some researchers have studied the development and layout of wetland resources from ecological and landscape planning perspectives, only a few have examined wetland parks from the perspective of tourists’ experience. This study aims to understand tourists’ experience of wetland parks, and how this experience affects their later behavioral intention. Specifically, the study tests a social-psychological model that examines the causal relationships among the factors affecting the experience, tourist experience, and post-trip behavioral intention of wetland park tourists.

The purpose of this study is to develop and test a model examining the tourist experience, its antecedents, and its consequences in wetland park setting. The model is tested using data generated by a survey of tourists at three national wetland parks in adjacent cities of Zhejiang province, China. Structural equation modeling is employed to further refine the model. The major theoretical contribution of this study is the use of quantitative analysis to identify factors affecting tourist experience in wetland parks and to examine how these factors are likely to influence tourist experience and post-trip behavioral intention. The study demonstrates how recreational activities, tourism facilities, integrated management, and related personnel affect each of the three types of tourist experience in wetland parks. It also shows the interplay among these constructs, and how these constructs influence tourists’ post-trip behavioral intention. Another important theoretical contribution is the division of tourist experience into three dimensions to explore how they interact in affecting the specific tourist experience of wetland parks and thus post-trip behavioral intention. Those seeking to develop wetland parks as tourism destinations need to realize the complexity of the issues affecting post-trip behavioral intention. The findings of this and other studies suggest that the managers and developers of wetland parks need to consider the opinions and feelings of tourists before they begin new development projects. Hence, the results of this study may be of value to planners, policymakers, and business operators who are considering the type, layout, and complexity of developments. The findings also indicate that action experience and aesthetic experience are the two factors that are most likely to influence tourist experience in wetland parks. To improve action experience, operators may develop diversified recreational activities that offer tourists a totally different life experience. The management of wetland parks should also be conducted in a more personalized, user-friendly manner. For example, park operators could enhance the relationships between stakeholders by managing queues and catering and personnel services in ways that strengthen tourists’ awareness of environmental protection and resource conservation. It is not surprising to learn that the tourists are in particular longing for an aesthetic experience when visiting wetland parks. Nevertheless, the appearance of man-made facilities, such as restaurants and visitor center, could have an impact of the aesthetic experience. Thus, from a managerial perspective, it is important to consider minimizing the impact on aesthetic beauty when constructing the infrastructures in wetland parks catering to urban inhabitants. The findings reveal five factors that are likely to influence tourist experience: resource conditions, recreational activities, tourism facilities, integrated management, and related personnel. These factors suggest that before attempting to develop wetland park tourism facilities, planners should investigate the tourism resources, design rich and unique recreational activities, and set up convenient and informative tourism facilities. Equally importantly, developers should take notice of management standards and fully assess the environmental impact and economic benefits of any development to limit the scope and scale of tourism activities to the capacity of the natural environment. Despite these significant findings, this study is not free from limitations. The findings of the study are limited to three wetland parks; if other wetland parks had been included in the study, the magnitude and direction of the relationships may have been different. Future studies should thus investigate other wetland parks. In addition, the formal investigation was conducted between July 20 and August 15 2009, during the Chinese summer. Due to the hot weather, some respondents did not have the patience to fill out the questionnaire carefully, which resulted in a number of poorly completed questionnaires. Data collection methods that utilize more in-depth approaches, such as focus groups, should also be considered in the future. Some of the results from this paper are close to the cut-off points, and therefore should be treated with caution. Furthermore, the measurement items were based on items relating to tourists’ experiences of natural scenic spots. The integrity and independence of these items may thus be inadequate. As a result, the new scales need to be further validated in future studies.