Rural landscape preferences and recreational activity inclination assessment from the tourist perspective, as linked to landscape values, in Deqing, China

Abstract

ABSTRACT Extensive research has emerged focusing on landscape preference, motivations, and landscape values, however, literature linking the three is limited. In this article, a conceptual framework is developed to explain their relationship. Tourists’ landscape preferences and activity choices in the study area are assessed by applying factor analysis, and tourism motivations are examined by description analysis. A correlation analysis is employed to understand the relationship between the derived landscape factors and motivations, and then how landscape values relate to them is discussed. The effect of individual characteristics on preference is examined by variance analysis. The article concludes that tourists’ stated motivations provide evidence of associations between landscape values and landscape characters. The study has a perspective favoring the awareness of multiple landscape values linked to landscape preferences, which are relevant to public’s needs and the resulting perceived benefits.