ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Environmental Psychology
Research on the Impact of Restorative Environmental Perception on Tourists' Environmental Responsibility Behaviour in Mountain-type Scenic Spots: Taking Taishan Scenic Spot as an Example
Provisionally accepted
- 1Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
- 2East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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Introduction: The environmental quality and sustainable development of mountain-type scenic spots are profoundly influenced by the behaviours of visitors. Tourists' environmentally responsible behaviour is crucial for maintaining this quality, yet the mechanisms linking it to restorative environmental perception, particularly within the context of sports tourism, require further exploration. Methods: This study adopted a quantitative research approach, utilizing an on-site survey questionnaire to empirically investigate the proposed model. It evaluated tourists' exercise experience, environmental experience, the four dimensions of restorative environmental perception (being away, extent, fascination, compatibility), satisfaction, and environmentally responsible behaviour. Data were collected via on-site interviews from 233 tourists who had completed their hiking visit. The data analysis employed structural equation modelling using Amos 24.0 to test the hypothesised relationships and the SPSS PROCESS macro for mediation analysis, using bootstrapping to confirm indirect effects. Results: The findings indicate that both exercise experience and environmental experience positively influenced tourists' perceived restorativeness, with environmental experience demonstrating a stronger overall effect. Specifically, environmental experience significantly and positively affected all four dimensions (being away: β = 0.553, extent: β = 0.854, fascination: β = 0.919, compatibility: β = 0.809), while exercise experience only positively influenced the 'being away' dimension (β = 0.351). Furthermore, the 'extent' (β = 0.372) and 'compatibility' (β = 0.449) dimensions of perceived restorativeness, along with both experience types, significantly enhanced tourist satisfaction. Satisfaction, in turn, was a strong positive predictor of environmentally responsible behaviour (β = 0.728). A significant chain mediation effect was also supported, revealing that perceived restorativeness and satisfaction sequentially transmit the influence of exercise experience onto environmentally responsible behaviour. Conclusion: For mountain-type scenic spots aiming to promote environmentally responsible behaviour, enhancing both the sports and environmental experiences for tourists is paramount. By improving these experiences, destinations can foster a stronger sense of restorative perception and increase visitor satisfaction, which subsequently encourages pro-environmental actions. This study provides a validated theoretical model and practical insights for the sustainable management and market-specific strategy development of mountain tourism destinations. Moreover, the study reveals differential effects among restorative dimensions, providing nuanced insights into their distinct roles in the psychological restoration–behavior chain.
Keywords: Environmental experience, Environmentally responsible behaviour, Exercise experience, restorative environmental perception, Taishan Scenic Area, visitor satisfaction
Received: 13 Nov 2025; Accepted: 26 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Tai, Jiang, Zhuang, Zou and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Pengfei Tai
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