A STUDY ON LOCAL IDENTITY OF LOW CARBON TOURISM BASED ON SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY- A CASE STUDY OF TAIWAN’S CHARACTERISTIC HOT SPRING AREA

Yu, Ouyang 

Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism and Management (including the Master’s Program in the Hot Spring Industry), Chia Nan University of Pharmacy & Science, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC

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Tsung-Lin, Lee*

Professor, Department of Architecture, China University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

*Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Hot spring resources are the characteristics and advantages of Taiwan’s development of tourism industry. However, due to the fragile geology and the environmental disasters over the years caused by over-exploitation and natural disasters, it is imperative to develop the tourism industry of “symbiosis with hot springs”, and thus the promotion of low-carbon concept in urban areas plays an important role. The scope of this research covers the Guanziling Hot Spring Area, which is a mud hot spring rarely seen in the world. Guanziling Hot Spring won the Champion of Taiwan’s Top 10 Hot Spring awarded by Taiwan Tourism Bureau in 2018. Based on Social Exchange Theory (SET), this paper explores the changes of local residents’ environmental awareness and tourism interests derived from the promotion of low-carbon policies by confirmative factor analysis and testing of relations between constructs. The results show that residents highly agree that the hot spring tourism industry is a local competitive industry, and generally hold a high positive evaluation of the tourism effect and environmental conservation driven by low-carbon campaigns. In terms of the construct of social exchange factors, “tourism value affirmation” and “fairness and reciprocity of tourism interests” are the main factors affecting the promotion of low-carbon tourism. The empirical research results can provide reference for relevant units to focus on promoting low-carbon cities and low-carbon tourism.

Key Words: Symbiosis with Hot Springs, Low Carbon Tourism, Social Exchange Theory (SET), Attitude towards Tourism Development

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