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28.01.2003, 13:14
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_____________________________
Investigating trekkers' attitudes to the environment of Annapurna, Nepal
A. Holden, ¤*#
Department of Tourism and Leisure, University of Luton, Luton, UK
Available online 14 December 2002.
1. Introduction
The debate of environmental realism vis-à-vis the postmodern view that the environment is purely a social construction (Dickens, 1996), is one that is pertinent to how nature is perceived, and subsequently managed. The activity of tourism is dependent upon the perception of the environment of a destination as being desirable. What actually constitutes `desirable' nature is a function of social construct, which is likely to be culturally determined ( Urry, 1995; Macnaghten & Urry, 1998).
Yet to date, little is understood about the attitudes held by tourists towards the nature and the environment of destinations they visit. Malim and Birch (1989) suggest that attitudes have three components: the `cognitive'; the `affective'; and the `behavioural'. The `cognitive' component relates to our perception, for example, a cognitive expression could be that `mountain areas are beautiful'. The `affective' response builds upon the cognitive expression developing feelings associated with the object. An affective response may be that `mountain areas are beautiful and provide me with happiness from looking at them'. The `behavioural' response relates to intentions towards the object based upon the `cognitive' and `affective' responses, for instance: `I intend to go walking in the mountains'. Subsequently, a mix of cultural influence and individual psychology manifests itself in behaviour.
One mechanism for framing tourist experiences has been developed in the field of environmental psychology. Different but overlapping modes of interaction with the environment were identified by Ittleson, Franck, and O'Hanlon (1976), and were applied in a leisure context by Iso-Ahola (1980). The first is where the environment is viewed as external to self, manifesting itself as a setting for action. Emphasis is consequently placed by the participant, on the physical qualities of the environment to provide an arena, in which to pursue a recreational activity to achieve specific goals. In contrast to the `external' type of experience, a second type of interaction is when the environment is viewed as `self'. This mode of interaction necessitates the environment becoming interwoven with the spiritual side of the individual, ultimately becoming expressed as `self', an inseparable oneness or entity. Experiencing the environment in this state, means an injury to the environment is experienced as an injury to one's self. Apposite, though less intense than the experience of environment as `self', is the third type of experience of the environment as `emotional territory'. This conveys the idea that the environment may be expressed predominantly in terms of its affect upon emotional well being. The fourth type of experience is that of the environment as a social system in which social interaction is the main focus.
2. Experiencing the environment of the Annapurna conservation area
An area of the world that has developed trekking tourism based upon western perceptions of beauty is the Annapurna conservation area (ACA) in Nepal. Biologically and culturally diverse, the image of James Hilton's `Shangri-La' has been used to promote the area as an international tourism destination. The growth in the number of trekkers in the region from approximately 14,000 in 1980 to 76,000 in 2001 (ACAP, 2002) has necessitated the development of a tourism management plan for the area. Although for some commentators ( Sofield, 2000), the role of tourism's impact upon the environment is over-exaggerated, its development in the 1970s and 1980s placed great pressure on forest resources. Wood continues to be used for lodge construction, and despite efforts to switch to alternative fuel sources, it is also used for fuel and cooking. Subsequently, major concerns relate to deforestation and also pollution, especially the disposal of plastic water bottles. Part of the tourism management plan involves modifying trekkers' behaviour, primarily through the uses of codes of conduct, to help alleviate these problems. Yet to date, there has been no evaluation of the codes of conduct or of trekkers' attitudes to the environment of Annapurna.
3. Methodology
The results of this research note are from part of a wider survey, into the motivations and attitudes of trekkers in the villages of Ghorepani and Tatopani, located on the established trekking route known as the `Jomosom Trail'. One hundred and fifty six trekkers were surveyed, in the high season during a three-week period in March and April 2001, as part of a research project. Trekkers were selected at random, and asked to complete a questionnaire, part of which contained eighteen statements relating to their attitudes to the surrounding environment. For each attitude, the level of expressed agreement was noted on a Likert scale, ranging from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree).
The statements were categorised into areas of commonality. These were: appreciation of the environment; views on the impacts of trekking; the level of knowledge of trekkers about the environment of Annapurna; and their experiences and behaviour. The research was constrained by both available time and financing but nevertheless provides an insight into trekkers' attitudes.
4. Results
The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample indicate a young, well educated, western trekking population. Eight-three per cent of the sample was under 45 years of age; 61 per cent labelled themselves as professional or managerial and a further 20 per cent as students; and 90 per cent came from western countries. The sample was skewed towards males, a gender ratio of males to females of 54:46, respectively. The statements and responses in the first category of attitudes relating to `an appreciation of the environment of Annapurna' are displayed in Table 1.
Table 1. Responses to statements in the category of `appreciation of the environment of Annapurna' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(7K)
It is evident that trekkers appreciate the environment of Annapurna as one of beauty and uniqueness. The fact that only 47 per cent of the sample agreed that the environment is `wild' is perhaps surprising. Possible reasons for this are that the human settlement in the area detracts from a perception of wildness or that the term `wild' has other connotations for some trekkers e.g. partying or clubbing.
The second category of statements related to the trekkers' views upon the impacts of tourism in the Annapurna area are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Responses to statements in the category of `views upon the impacts of trekking' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(8K)
Whilst most trekkers feel that they are making a positive contribution to the economy of the area, only a quarter feel that trekking is harming the environment of Annapurna. Conversely, 62 per cent disagree with the more general statement that `trekking does not harm the environment'. This indicates that for 40 per cent of the sample, whilst they recognise trekking can harm the environment, they either genuinely believe it is not doing so in Annapurna or have not been alerted to the negative effects. Alternatively, there may exist a state of cognitive dissonance between what is known and actual behaviour. Over a third of the sample, perceive that Annapurna is overcrowded with trekkers.
The next category of statements relates to the trekkers existing levels of knowledge of the environment of the Annapurna area and the results are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Responses to statements in the category of `trekkers levels of knowledge of the Annapurna area' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(9K)
These results demonstrate a desire by the majority of trekkers to be better informed and educated about the environment. They suggest that trekkers are likely to be a receptive group to educational initiatives aimed at increasing their awareness of the physical and cultural characteristics of the area.
The next category of statements relating to the actual experiences and behaviour of trekkers and are shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Responses to statements in the category of `experiences and behaviour of trekkers' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(13K)
The fact that more trekkers professed to try to adhere to the codes of conduct than actually knew about them is confusing. It suggests that either the statement was not read carefully or that the respondents gave a response that they thought to be more socially acceptable. Less than half the sample felt a sense of spirituality, yet this a feature of the human psyche often associated with mountain environments. The fact that 20 per cent of the sample would not give up trekking even if they knew it to be damaging the environment, and believe that it should be allowed even if it has negative effects, suggests that there is a segment of the trekking market for whom the primary experience of the environment is as a setting for action.
5. Discussion and reflections
The results give pointers for further research both specific to Annapurna and to understanding tourists' attitudes towards nature. As is stressed by Moscardo (1999), sustainable tourism is more likely to result from visitors who are active and mindful, and who are capable of reassessing the way they view the world. In the case of Annapurna the results point to a market that is generally mindful and would be receptive to environmental information. However, there is little point in developing codes of conduct to guide behaviour, in the absence of proper dissemination and monitoring of their effectiveness.
In terms of the methodology, this research illustrated problems of questionnaire surveys. Whilst they are a convenient and relatively quick method of gathering data, terms such as `wild' may be ambiguous, and the results need to be verified through the use of qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups. This is especially so, if the researcher wishes to comprehend the mental images and the significance of nature held by tourists. It is proposed that the modes of interaction proposed by Ittleson et al. (1976) would form a valid framing mechanism for categorising responses. An interesting piece of research, particularly, in the case of areas where there is a large resident population and concerns over sustainable development, would be to compare constructions of the environment by tourists with those of local people. If education and codes are to be developed by management agencies for both groups of stakeholders then this understanding is essential.
References
ACAP (2002). ACAP (2002). Annapurna Conservation Area Project: Two Years Retrospective Report (July 1998–July 2000), King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Pokhara.
Dickens (1996). P. Dickens Reconstructing nature: Alienation, emancipation and the division of labour, Routledge, London (1996).
Iso-Ahola (1980). E.S. Iso-Ahola The social psychology of leisure and recreation, Wm. C. Brown, Iowa (1980).
Ittleson, Franck and O'Hanlon (1976). W.H. Ittleson, K.A. Franck and T.J. O'Hanlon , The Nature of environmental experience. In: S. Wagner, B.S. Cohen and B. Kaplan, Editors, Experiencing the environment, Plenum Press, New York (1976), pp. 187–206 (Chapter 9) .
Macnaghten & Urry (1998). P. Macnaghten and J. Urry Contested natures, Sage, London (1998).
Malim and Birch (1989). T. Malim and A. Birch Social psychology, The Macmillan Press Ltd, Basingstoke (1989).
Moscardo (1999). G. Moscardo Making visitors mindful: Principles for creating sustainable visitor experiences through effective communication, Sagamore, Champaign (1999).
Sofield (2000). T.H.B. Sofield , Forest tourism and recreation in Nepal. In: X. Font and J. Tribe, Editors, Forest tourism and recreation studies in environmental management, CABI, Wallingford (2000), pp. 225–247 (Chapter 14) .
Urry (1995). J. Urry Consuming places, Routledge, London (1995
_____________________________
Investigating trekkers' attitudes to the environment of Annapurna, Nepal
A. Holden, ¤*#
Department of Tourism and Leisure, University of Luton, Luton, UK
Available online 14 December 2002.
1. Introduction
The debate of environmental realism vis-à-vis the postmodern view that the environment is purely a social construction (Dickens, 1996), is one that is pertinent to how nature is perceived, and subsequently managed. The activity of tourism is dependent upon the perception of the environment of a destination as being desirable. What actually constitutes `desirable' nature is a function of social construct, which is likely to be culturally determined ( Urry, 1995; Macnaghten & Urry, 1998).
Yet to date, little is understood about the attitudes held by tourists towards the nature and the environment of destinations they visit. Malim and Birch (1989) suggest that attitudes have three components: the `cognitive'; the `affective'; and the `behavioural'. The `cognitive' component relates to our perception, for example, a cognitive expression could be that `mountain areas are beautiful'. The `affective' response builds upon the cognitive expression developing feelings associated with the object. An affective response may be that `mountain areas are beautiful and provide me with happiness from looking at them'. The `behavioural' response relates to intentions towards the object based upon the `cognitive' and `affective' responses, for instance: `I intend to go walking in the mountains'. Subsequently, a mix of cultural influence and individual psychology manifests itself in behaviour.
One mechanism for framing tourist experiences has been developed in the field of environmental psychology. Different but overlapping modes of interaction with the environment were identified by Ittleson, Franck, and O'Hanlon (1976), and were applied in a leisure context by Iso-Ahola (1980). The first is where the environment is viewed as external to self, manifesting itself as a setting for action. Emphasis is consequently placed by the participant, on the physical qualities of the environment to provide an arena, in which to pursue a recreational activity to achieve specific goals. In contrast to the `external' type of experience, a second type of interaction is when the environment is viewed as `self'. This mode of interaction necessitates the environment becoming interwoven with the spiritual side of the individual, ultimately becoming expressed as `self', an inseparable oneness or entity. Experiencing the environment in this state, means an injury to the environment is experienced as an injury to one's self. Apposite, though less intense than the experience of environment as `self', is the third type of experience of the environment as `emotional territory'. This conveys the idea that the environment may be expressed predominantly in terms of its affect upon emotional well being. The fourth type of experience is that of the environment as a social system in which social interaction is the main focus.
2. Experiencing the environment of the Annapurna conservation area
An area of the world that has developed trekking tourism based upon western perceptions of beauty is the Annapurna conservation area (ACA) in Nepal. Biologically and culturally diverse, the image of James Hilton's `Shangri-La' has been used to promote the area as an international tourism destination. The growth in the number of trekkers in the region from approximately 14,000 in 1980 to 76,000 in 2001 (ACAP, 2002) has necessitated the development of a tourism management plan for the area. Although for some commentators ( Sofield, 2000), the role of tourism's impact upon the environment is over-exaggerated, its development in the 1970s and 1980s placed great pressure on forest resources. Wood continues to be used for lodge construction, and despite efforts to switch to alternative fuel sources, it is also used for fuel and cooking. Subsequently, major concerns relate to deforestation and also pollution, especially the disposal of plastic water bottles. Part of the tourism management plan involves modifying trekkers' behaviour, primarily through the uses of codes of conduct, to help alleviate these problems. Yet to date, there has been no evaluation of the codes of conduct or of trekkers' attitudes to the environment of Annapurna.
3. Methodology
The results of this research note are from part of a wider survey, into the motivations and attitudes of trekkers in the villages of Ghorepani and Tatopani, located on the established trekking route known as the `Jomosom Trail'. One hundred and fifty six trekkers were surveyed, in the high season during a three-week period in March and April 2001, as part of a research project. Trekkers were selected at random, and asked to complete a questionnaire, part of which contained eighteen statements relating to their attitudes to the surrounding environment. For each attitude, the level of expressed agreement was noted on a Likert scale, ranging from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree).
The statements were categorised into areas of commonality. These were: appreciation of the environment; views on the impacts of trekking; the level of knowledge of trekkers about the environment of Annapurna; and their experiences and behaviour. The research was constrained by both available time and financing but nevertheless provides an insight into trekkers' attitudes.
4. Results
The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample indicate a young, well educated, western trekking population. Eight-three per cent of the sample was under 45 years of age; 61 per cent labelled themselves as professional or managerial and a further 20 per cent as students; and 90 per cent came from western countries. The sample was skewed towards males, a gender ratio of males to females of 54:46, respectively. The statements and responses in the first category of attitudes relating to `an appreciation of the environment of Annapurna' are displayed in Table 1.
Table 1. Responses to statements in the category of `appreciation of the environment of Annapurna' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(7K)
It is evident that trekkers appreciate the environment of Annapurna as one of beauty and uniqueness. The fact that only 47 per cent of the sample agreed that the environment is `wild' is perhaps surprising. Possible reasons for this are that the human settlement in the area detracts from a perception of wildness or that the term `wild' has other connotations for some trekkers e.g. partying or clubbing.
The second category of statements related to the trekkers' views upon the impacts of tourism in the Annapurna area are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Responses to statements in the category of `views upon the impacts of trekking' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(8K)
Whilst most trekkers feel that they are making a positive contribution to the economy of the area, only a quarter feel that trekking is harming the environment of Annapurna. Conversely, 62 per cent disagree with the more general statement that `trekking does not harm the environment'. This indicates that for 40 per cent of the sample, whilst they recognise trekking can harm the environment, they either genuinely believe it is not doing so in Annapurna or have not been alerted to the negative effects. Alternatively, there may exist a state of cognitive dissonance between what is known and actual behaviour. Over a third of the sample, perceive that Annapurna is overcrowded with trekkers.
The next category of statements relates to the trekkers existing levels of knowledge of the environment of the Annapurna area and the results are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Responses to statements in the category of `trekkers levels of knowledge of the Annapurna area' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(9K)
These results demonstrate a desire by the majority of trekkers to be better informed and educated about the environment. They suggest that trekkers are likely to be a receptive group to educational initiatives aimed at increasing their awareness of the physical and cultural characteristics of the area.
The next category of statements relating to the actual experiences and behaviour of trekkers and are shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Responses to statements in the category of `experiences and behaviour of trekkers' (all figures are expressed as valid percentages)
(13K)
The fact that more trekkers professed to try to adhere to the codes of conduct than actually knew about them is confusing. It suggests that either the statement was not read carefully or that the respondents gave a response that they thought to be more socially acceptable. Less than half the sample felt a sense of spirituality, yet this a feature of the human psyche often associated with mountain environments. The fact that 20 per cent of the sample would not give up trekking even if they knew it to be damaging the environment, and believe that it should be allowed even if it has negative effects, suggests that there is a segment of the trekking market for whom the primary experience of the environment is as a setting for action.
5. Discussion and reflections
The results give pointers for further research both specific to Annapurna and to understanding tourists' attitudes towards nature. As is stressed by Moscardo (1999), sustainable tourism is more likely to result from visitors who are active and mindful, and who are capable of reassessing the way they view the world. In the case of Annapurna the results point to a market that is generally mindful and would be receptive to environmental information. However, there is little point in developing codes of conduct to guide behaviour, in the absence of proper dissemination and monitoring of their effectiveness.
In terms of the methodology, this research illustrated problems of questionnaire surveys. Whilst they are a convenient and relatively quick method of gathering data, terms such as `wild' may be ambiguous, and the results need to be verified through the use of qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups. This is especially so, if the researcher wishes to comprehend the mental images and the significance of nature held by tourists. It is proposed that the modes of interaction proposed by Ittleson et al. (1976) would form a valid framing mechanism for categorising responses. An interesting piece of research, particularly, in the case of areas where there is a large resident population and concerns over sustainable development, would be to compare constructions of the environment by tourists with those of local people. If education and codes are to be developed by management agencies for both groups of stakeholders then this understanding is essential.
References
ACAP (2002). ACAP (2002). Annapurna Conservation Area Project: Two Years Retrospective Report (July 1998–July 2000), King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Pokhara.
Dickens (1996). P. Dickens Reconstructing nature: Alienation, emancipation and the division of labour, Routledge, London (1996).
Iso-Ahola (1980). E.S. Iso-Ahola The social psychology of leisure and recreation, Wm. C. Brown, Iowa (1980).
Ittleson, Franck and O'Hanlon (1976). W.H. Ittleson, K.A. Franck and T.J. O'Hanlon , The Nature of environmental experience. In: S. Wagner, B.S. Cohen and B. Kaplan, Editors, Experiencing the environment, Plenum Press, New York (1976), pp. 187–206 (Chapter 9) .
Macnaghten & Urry (1998). P. Macnaghten and J. Urry Contested natures, Sage, London (1998).
Malim and Birch (1989). T. Malim and A. Birch Social psychology, The Macmillan Press Ltd, Basingstoke (1989).
Moscardo (1999). G. Moscardo Making visitors mindful: Principles for creating sustainable visitor experiences through effective communication, Sagamore, Champaign (1999).
Sofield (2000). T.H.B. Sofield , Forest tourism and recreation in Nepal. In: X. Font and J. Tribe, Editors, Forest tourism and recreation studies in environmental management, CABI, Wallingford (2000), pp. 225–247 (Chapter 14) .
Urry (1995). J. Urry Consuming places, Routledge, London (1995