Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Shuangyu Xu, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. Her research is primarily focused on developing and promoting sustainable tourism (with an emphasis in agritourism, nature-based tourism) for communities using a combined stakeholder theory and GIS approach.

Sonja Wilhelm Stanis, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Interim Associate Director in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. Her primary work is in the human dimensions of natural resource management with an emphasis in the social psychological aspects of outdoor recreation.

Hongchao Zhang is a Climate Adaptation Science trainee and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University. His research is in climate change and sustainable tourism management with an emphasis in modeling tourism visitation by using social media analytics.

Lisa Groshong, Ph.D., is a communication research scientist for the Center for Insurance Policy & Research at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. She is especially interested in risk communication, in particular related to mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Mark Morgan, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri and former Fulbright Scholar in Vietnam. He teaches classes and conducts research on the human dimensions of natural resource management, especially as it relates to education and outreach.

Abstract (150 Words)

Despite the growing concern of climate change, little is known about visitor attitudes toward climate mitigation strategies in nature-based tourism, especially in relation to visitors’ travel distance and experience use history (EUH). This study examined the influence of travel distance and EUH on visitors’ climate friendly behavior and their support for management actions to minimize climate change impacts in nature-based tourism destinations. A total of 1,775 visitors (69.7% response rate) completed online or paper surveys at the selected 20 Missouri state parks during 2017. Results indicated that proximate visitors were more willing to engage in climate friendly behavior, but less supportive of climate friendly management actions, as compared to distant visitors. Visitors’ EUH was significantly associated with their willingness to engage in climate friendly behavior. This study sheds light on the management of parks and other nature-based tourism destinations.

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Visitor Attitudes Toward Climate Mitigation Strategies: Influence of Travel Distance and Experience Use History

Despite the growing concern of climate change, little is known about visitor attitudes toward climate mitigation strategies in nature-based tourism, especially in relation to visitors’ travel distance and experience use history (EUH). This study examined the influence of travel distance and EUH on visitors’ climate friendly behavior and their support for management actions to minimize climate change impacts in nature-based tourism destinations. A total of 1,775 visitors (69.7% response rate) completed online or paper surveys at the selected 20 Missouri state parks during 2017. Results indicated that proximate visitors were more willing to engage in climate friendly behavior, but less supportive of climate friendly management actions, as compared to distant visitors. Visitors’ EUH was significantly associated with their willingness to engage in climate friendly behavior. This study sheds light on the management of parks and other nature-based tourism destinations.