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- All Subjects: tourism
- Creators: Buzinde, Christine
- Status: Published
The Northern Gulf of California is characterized by an extreme tidal range and temperature fluctuations between seasons, as well as a large variation in microhabitats along its shoreline. As a result, the intertidal regions exhibit a diverse and distinct collection of species that have adapted to these environmental conditions, with roughly 4.6 percent being endemic. Minimal knowledge of these ecosystems existed until the 1940’s, when the renowned author John Steinbeck accompanied marine biologist Edward Ricketts on an expedition with the purpose of documenting the biodiversity of the Sea of Cortez. Today, the majority of research in the Northern Gulf of California is directed by CEDO, the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans. The purpose of this project is to compile a literature review of research on the intertidal areas of the Northern Gulf and produce an illustrated brochure that educates beach visitors on local biodiversity as a collaboration with CEDO and the Clean Beaches Committee of Puerto Peñasco. This brochure aims to increase respect and appreciation for these species, as increased tourism over the past few decades has led to detrimental effects on the ecosystem. Additionally, it serves to promote the success of the Blue Flag certification of El Mirador beach in front of Manny’s Beach Club.
However, it is the Western gaze that is taken into consideration by tourism promoters, thereby questioning the sustainability of an industry that disregards one group over another. The results also indicate that culture and historical events have an impact on visitations to protected areas. Policy implications are discussed.
The tourism industry continues to mature as many consumers are demanding more responsible and sustainable development. Mindfulness has been studied in tourism as a cognitive trait recognized by actively processing information through an acute sensitivity to an individual's environment and openness to new information. Mindfulness has been shown to predict behaviors related to tourism and recreation. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been extensively applied to understand human behavior. Despite TPB's extensive history in the social sciences, researchers continue to incorporate new social factors to explain behavior. This study employs an emerging psychological construct, mindfulness, into the TPB model as an enhancement to conceptual and empirical discrepancies.
This study aimed to: (1) understand the presence of mindfulness among those who travel, and (2) test a hypothesized relationship between mindfulness and intent to be sustainable on vacation. The research seeks to answer - does mindfulness add to a traveler's likelihood to behave sustainably in a destination with active sustainable initiatives? The purpose of this study is to showcase emerging consumer traits, like mindfulness, to enhance visitor experiences through sustainability initiatives.
A survey research method was employed to provide a broad, generalizable set of findings from a group of people who were planning a trip and may have visited a specific destination. This study partnered with Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau to access such a population. The survey was conducted with a self-administered online survey and 550 completed surveys were obtained. Behavior intention to be sustainable, in any visited destination, was regressed twice to address the research question. The first regression included original TPB independent variables (such as attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control). The second regression added the mindfulness variable. The mindfulness variable was found to be positive and significant in a general context. The model was tested for those who traveled to Sedona and mindfulness and actual behaviors associated with sustainability were strongly related. A traveler's perception of their ability to control behaviors had a significant role when paired with mindfulness. Results suggest the TPB model has availability to incorporate new consumer behavior traits to understand behavior intention.