Muṭāli̒āt-i Mudīriyyat-i Gardishgarī (Dec 2022)
The Role of Sports Tourism in Promoting Green Behaviors of Tourists
Abstract
Sports tourism is an important type of tourism that is growing and developing rapidly. Tourist destinations in the field of sports not only support sports tourism policies but also attend to environmental issues in a bid to promote green behaviors among tourists. This research aimed to investigate the role of sports tourism in promoting green behaviors among tourists in Ardabil Province. As a mixed methods research, the study relied on a sequential exploratory approach consisting of qualitative and quantitative phases. The methods of thematic analysis and survey were used to analyze the data. The first phase of the study involved interviewing experts in sports tourism, sports management, and behavior management through purposive sampling. The second phase used systematic sampling and the influential actors of the field as the statistical population, with 31 experts responding to the questionnaire. According to the research findings in the first phase, 36 basic themes, 15 organizing themes, and three global themes were extracted from the semi-structured interviews. In the second phase, the identified themes were approved by the experts as the factors affecting the role of sports tourism in promoting green behaviors among tourists. The study highlights that sports tourism not only creates macro social, cultural, and economic benefits for residents and visitors, but also has a significant contribution to green behaviors among tourists. Green behaviors, in addition to protecting the environment, have a positive impact on the development of sports tourism and can strengthen and develop pro-environmental attitudes among tourists, besides creating recreational experiences.Introduction Sport is an ever-evolving phenomenon, with new sport events emerging regularly. Organizations need to study specific aspects of sports in order to manage their resources more effectively. As one of the most important fields in this respect, sports tourism refers to those trips for recreational (non-commercial) reasons to participate in or observe sports activities outside one’s usual residence, with or without competitive goals. Sports tourism has gradually gained popularity in different countries, leading to the establishment of specialized sports tourism agencies in large cities and small local towns. Sports activities, such as beach volleyball, rock climbing, river tracking, etc., allow tourists to participate freely in the tourism process, Sports tourism is a low-cost recreational activity that can improve physical and mental health. Travelers from many countries are paying increasing attention to sports tourism, creating many sports activities in sightseeing spots and resorts, including mountain climbing, cycling, road running, river trekking, rock climbing, and swimming.The sports tourism industry is highly competitive. Implementing and managing sustainable tourism development programs and a greener competitive advantage in these areas provide potential benefits for sports tourism destinations. Nowadays, sports tourism destinations tend to take measures to attract tourists and increase the credibility of sports tourism. Sports tourism departments have taken steps towards the greening of tourists’ behaviors. In addition to economic, political, and cultural fields, sports tourism has attended to environmental issues and greening. Green behaviors among tourists can positively affect the host community as well as the environment. Destinations providing sports tourism can benefit by encouraging tourism service providers to develop green measures and strategies. Green behaviors among tourists can play a fundamental role. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate and analyze the role of sports tourism and its influential factors in promoting green behaviors among tourists. The present study aimed to investigate this issue in Ardabil Province, which has ten cities with sports tourism in several sports, such as skiing, rock climbing, mountaineering, river trekking, water sports, hiking, camping, etc. Considering the province’s pristine and beautiful nature, it is vital to promote green behaviors among tourists. Materials and MethodsAs an applied research based on a mixed methods design, the present study utilized a sequential exploratory approach involving both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Given more analytical weight, the first phase used the qualitative method of thematic analysis. Using tools such as semi-structured interviews, the study could obtain relevant codes. In an inductive approach (part to whole), the identified themes were categorized under basic, organizing, and global themes. During the second phase, the study employed the quantitative survey method, and each of the themes was sent to the experts for verification, review, and measurement of its components and assessment of its validity. The participants of the study were categorized separately for both phases. In the first phase, the purposeful sampling method was used to identify 11 experts in sports tourism, sports management, and behavior management, who participated in the study online. The second phase of the study used the influential actors in the field, who were mainly active in the academic and executive sectors. The second phase relied on the systematic sampling method, and 31 experts responded to the questionnaire. Results and DiscussionHaving examined the semi-structured interviews, the study identified 121 indicators, from which 36 basic themes, 15 organizing themes, and three global themes were extracted. Each organizing theme is the principal element and constituent of the global themes. The themes indicate that these factors influence and determine the role of sports tourism in promoting green behaviors among tourists in the host community. In the quantitative phase, the themes received values higher than the acceptable limit, which indicates the appropriateness of the measurement model. The theme of creating, supporting, and promoting pro-environmental behavior (among the global themes) and the theme of enhancement of environmentally responsible behaviors of sports tourists (among the organizing themes) had the most significant effect with values of 0.56 and 0.57, respectively. ConclusionSports tourism contributes to the host society’s economic growth, cultural promotion, and enrichment. It is also considered important in environmental protection and greening of tourists’ behaviors. Many countries use mechanisms such as sports tourism to green tourists’ behaviors in order to face challenging environmental issues and problems. The findings of the study can offer important practical implications for the stakeholders in the sports tourism industry. The relationship between tourists’ green behaviors and environmental behaviors in tourist destinations creates a specific context with opportunities. One of the most fundamental topics in the field was found to be the global theme of creating, supporting, and promoting pro-environmental behaviors, which plays an essential role in sports tourism by influencing tourists’ green behavioral intentions. This theme emphasizes the significance of participation and interaction of sports tourists with the host community in order to promote greener behaviors, which in turn makes green consumption and measures a necessary part of their daily life. Another global theme is sustainable green engagement and communication which stresses a multi-faceted relationship with tourists and the local community. Moving towards greener behaviors among sports tourists and creating green destinations is not just an objective but a systematic and extensive process that requires much attention. Environmental education through media (e.g., television, newspapers, internet, social media, etc.) is needed to teach professional environmental practices to travelers and non-travelers. The environmental education helps tourists understand the importance of green behaviors. Destinations can thus help educate tourists by familiarizing them with environmental protection information. These measures can create interaction and participation as critical and valuable measures in the field. The attempt at greening of behaviors can thus help create environmentally responsible behaviors among tourists. Concerning the organizing themes, the theme of enhancement of environmentally responsible behaviors of sports tourists had the highest path coefficient effect. Environmentally responsible behavior refers to the cases in which a person or a group of people follow actions or behaviors that control environmental impact and are highly responsive to the environment and its subsequent issues. In addition to the preservation of the environment, such behaviors are necessary to maintain the growth of sports tourism.
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