Behaviours not set in stone: do residents still adopt pro-tourism behaviours when tourists behave in uncivilized ways?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Residents’ pro-tourism behaviours are critical for the success of tourism destinations. However, there has been limited research on how tourists’ uncivilized behaviours influence pro-tourism behaviours. Drawing from the social exchange theory, affective events theory and conservation of resources theory, this paper presents a conceptual framework to examine the impact of tourists’ uncivilized behaviours on residents’ pro-tourism behaviours and its boundary conditions. The study was conducted considering two scenarios: Scenario 1 involved a sample of residents not dependent on tourism for livelihood, while Scenario 2 consisted of residents earning their living through tourism. Data were collected from Qingdao coastal scenic area in China, and the structural equation model was employed. Results varied between the two scenarios: For residents in Scenario 1, there was a significant negative effect of tourists’ uncivilized behaviours on residents’ pro-tourism behaviours. However, this impact was not significant in Scenario 2. This suggests that the influence of tourists’ uncivilized behaviours on residents’ pro-tourism behaviours depends on the residents’ economic reliance on tourism, and residents’ behaviours are not static. Regardless of their dependence on tourism for income, the mediating effects of negative affectivity and negative perceptions, and the moderating roles of emotional intelligence and organizational support were identified.