The Impacts of Ecotourists’ Perceived Authenticity and Perceived Values on Their Behaviors: Evidence from Huangshan World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site

Abstract

Drawn to the unique natural and geographical advantages of ecotourism scenic areas, tourists can roam the natural environment and, at the same time, promote the sustainable development of the scenic area’s ecology. As a result, ecotourism has gradually become a popular type of tourism. Tourists’ perceived authenticity, perceived values, revisit intentions, and environmentally responsible behaviors, which are important variables in understanding their cognition and behaviors, have received extensive attention from scholars. However, few studies have combined tourists’ perceived authenticity, perceived values, revisit intentions, and environmentally responsible behaviors in the context of ecotourism. Taking Huangshan World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site in Anhui, China, as a case study, this study explored the relationship between the perceived authenticity and perceived values of ecotourists, and the respective relationships of perceived authenticity and perceived values with revisit intentions and environmentally responsible behaviors. A survey research method was employed, and the structural equation modeling technique was used to determine the relationships among variables. The results indicated that the perceived authenticity of ecotourists had a significant positive impact on their perceived values. Tourists’ perceived authenticity and perceived values significantly and positively affected their revisit intentions and environmentally responsible behaviors, respectively, while their perceived values played a mediating role in the impact of perceived authenticity on revisit intentions and environmentally responsible behaviors. Theoretically, this study introduces the concept of perceived authenticity into ecotourism, expands the research scope of perceived values, and fills the gaps in the research regarding the impact of perceived authenticity on environmentally responsible behaviors. Practically, it will assist tourism managers in developing a strategic plan for protecting the unique natural resources and cultural customs of scenic spots, producing a valuable interactive experience, and enhancing the collaborative decision-making process, which will lead to the sustainable development of ecotourism destinations.

1. Introduction

With people’s deep understanding of the importance of environmental protection, a rapidly increasing number of travelers prefer visiting natural destinations, and ecotourism has emerged as a popular pastime, with the ecological environment and natural scenery as the attractive points [1]. Additionally, this form of tourism is commonly promoted as a long-term conservation mechanism, to mobilize political, financial, and socio-cultural support for conservation and provide an alternate consumptive practice for tourists [2,3].

Currently, much attention is being paid to environmental protection, and ecotourism has been promoted by various countries. Many well-known scenic spots attract tourists under the banner of maintaining the ecological environment and returning to nature. The endogenously interdisciplinary state of ecotourism has been widely recognized by the academic community [2,4,5,6,7]. In the study of ecotourism, many scholars have discussed its evaluation, framework, planning, and development [8,9,10,11]. They have also discussed the impacts of ecotourism, such as its impact on the community [12,13,14,15,16], on sustainable development [17,18], on the economy [19,20,21], and on other aspects. As the study of responsible tourist attitudes and behaviors toward sustainable development has recently emerged, it is still in the growth phase [5].

During the developmental process of ecotourism, preserving the authenticity and originality of scenic spots and protecting the local cultures to a certain extent, while also protecting the original natural features, are necessary [22]. Tourists’ perceived authenticity is often utilized in heritage tourism or cultural tourism, and its impact on their behaviors and behavioral intentions has also been studied in China [23,24]. However, in the context of ecotourism, a consideration of perceived authenticity is lacking. For example, scenic spot managers may be concerned about factors such as whether the environment of the scenic spot agrees with the online publicity and whether the planning of the scenic spot meets the needs of first-time tourists. Tourists expect the scenic spots they visit to meet, or even exceed, their expectations [25].

Scholars have combined the perceived values of tourists with behavioral intentions and other influencing factors, such as tourist satisfaction [26], tourist motivation [27], destination images [28], and rural tourism location impacts [29]. Previous studies have provided some good ideas, and many scholars believe that perceived value has a positive impact on tourists’ revisit intentions [30].

Tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior is an important component in the study of ecotourism, and previous studies have analyzed different tourist groups, such as resort ecotourists [31], marine ecotourists [32], and wetland ecotourists [33]. Understanding the influencing factors of tourists’ environmentally responsible behaviors can help ecotourism park managers to better plan their parks and educate tourists.

Although perceived authenticity, perceived values, revisit intentions, and environmentally responsible behaviors have been examined independently and mutually in different tourism sectors, the understanding of the joint force of these variables in ecotourism and sustainable development remains incomplete. Theoretically, we have a clear understanding that the relationships among these variables may supplement existing theories, such as in the ethical tourism model [34], and contribute to the building of a new theoretical framework of ecotourism. This framework can be used to guide future investigations of specific ecotourism cases or phenomena. With the knowledge of these relationships, tourism destination managers can preserve their natural and cultural resources, produce an interactive tourism experience, and maximize cooperation among various stakeholders, toward sustainable tourism destination development. Therefore, the objective of this study was to combine these four variables, with perceived authenticity as the independent variable and the perceived values as the mediating variables, to explore the impacts of these two variables on tourists’ environmentally responsible behaviors and revisit intentions after visiting. The research questions of this study are as follows: (1) What are the relationships among tourist perceived authenticity, perceived values, revisit intentions, and post-tour environmentally responsible behaviors? (2) Can the perceived values play a mediating role between perceived authenticity, revisit intentions, and environmentally responsible behaviors?

2. Literature Review

2.1. Ecotourism

Since its introduction into scholastic discourse in the 1980s, “ecotourism” has been advocated and adopted in both academia and the global tourism industry [35]. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) [36] proposed that ecotourism is “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education”. Ecotourism is often considered to be a potential strategy and a model of sustainability to support the conservation of natural ecosystems, while promoting local sustainable development [37]. It helps to increase income, provides employment opportunities, and protects local ecosystems [38]. The main focus of ecotourism development is how to minimize the negative environmental impacts and protect natural resources from degradation [39].

In other words, ecotourism is a new way to solve the contradiction between tourism and sustainable development. Sustainable tourism without ecotourism is facing difficulty in the protection and reuse of natural resources. It provides tourists with an ecological experience and simultaneously raises their awareness of environmental protection, while protecting and respecting the natural and cultural heritage of a destination, which can benefit the local area and place it at the center of the development and planning process [40]. Tourism in nature is a form of economic development [10]. Ecotourism calls for ethically responsible decision making among divergent sustainable tourism stakeholders, such as governments, NGOs, ecotourists, business managers (e.g., hoteliers, travel agencies), and local residents, and is not involved in conflict during the development of eco-tourism destinations [1]. Arising from this understanding is the ecotourism paradigm, adapted from Speed [34], as depicted in Figure 1.

While ecotourism is commonly assumed to provide a more sustainable and benign alternative to conventional (or mass) tourism, scholars and practitioners have also expressed serious concerns, against the backdrop of the increasing popularity of ecotourism in the past few decades [41,42,43,44,45]. Instead of supporting sustainable tourism development, ecotourism has been simply used as a “buzzword” or a brand to attract tourists [3,4,46]. Arguably, a plethora of ecotourism benefits accompany tourists’ perceptions, attitudes, values, knowledge, experiences, intentions, behavior, etc. [46,47,48,49,50]. In line with these notions, the four aspects of tourists’ perceived authenticity, perceived value, environmentally responsible behaviors, and future behavior intentions have been considered an avenue toward the sustainable development of ecotourism destinations [35,47,51,52,53].

2.2. Tourists’ Perceived Authenticity

The concept of authenticity was first proposed in 1973 by MacCannell [54], who believed that authenticity refers to creating an impression of genuineness through the display of local culture. For example, in cultural tourism, tourists want to experience the real life of different historical periods, different people, and different regions [55]. Authenticity plays an important role in the entire tourism process.

In tourism, authenticity is an expression that describes the degree to which tourists perceive products and experiences [56]. Authenticity is an important factor affecting human behaviors, especially tourist behaviors. People identify many “artificial elements” in their surrounding environment, resulting in a sense of unreality, and seeking authenticity in other places has become an important driving force for tourism [57]. For most tourists who are not anthropologists, destination image and authenticity may be seen as synonymous, and much of what they see and recall at a destination will be perceived and felt as real [58].

In addition, three types of authenticity are identified, depending on the visitors’ experiences. Wang [59] reviewed and analyzed the three different research paradigms of objectivism, constructivism, and postmodernism, and thus clarified three different types of authenticity, namely: objective authenticity, constructive authenticity, and existential authenticity. He believed that objective authenticity refers to the most original authenticity of tourist attractions; constructive authenticity refers to the authenticity that tourists or tourism producers project onto the visited objects, according to their images, expectations, preferences, beliefs, powers, etc.; and existential authenticity relates to tourism activities and tourists’ first-hand experiences. Yi et al. [60] argued that objective authenticity means objective novelty and originality that is not influenced by personal feelings or opinions when considering and presenting facts. Unlike objective authenticity, the other two types of authenticity are subjective. Authenticity is the key to a destination’s continued appeal [58].

As tourism becomes more commodified, authenticity is increasingly seen as crucial: the main motivation for tourists traveling to distant destinations is to discover pure, unspoiled attractions [61]. Authenticity means the traditions and cultures of a destination, including the three qualities of sincerity, genuineness, and truth [62].

Scholars have linked authenticity to other variables and analyzed them from multiple perspectives, which include an inquiry into how authenticity affects behavioral intentions, arguing that tourists’ behavioral intentions are determined by the perceived authenticity of the destination [36]. For example, Ramkissoon and Uysal [63] discussed the influence of perceived authenticity, motivation, information search behaviors, and destination images on tourists’ intentions to visit cultural attractions. They believed that when tourists travel to cultural tourism destinations, they associate perceived authenticity with their own behavioral intentions. Tourists’ perceived authenticity in cultural tourism has an impact on behavioral intentions, but in the related research on ecotourism, perceived authenticity is rarely used as a variable. Therefore, this study introduces the concept of perceived authenticity into ecotourism and discusses its impacts on tourist behavior.

2.3. Tourists’ Perceived Value

The 1990s saw the rise of research on perceived values. Porter, a famous strategist at Harvard Business School, proposed the concept of “consumer value chain” in “competitive advantage”, pointing out that only when consumers perceive the value provided by the seller, they will give the seller a return beyond the value itself. It is generally accepted in academic circles that this view is the basis for the definition of perceived values [64].

From the economic point of view, value is the consumer’s overall subjective assessment of a product’s utility based on the perceptions of what is received and given [65]. Perceived value is a consumer’s evaluation of a product or service by comparing the inputs and gains at the time of purchase [65]. Consumers consider what they contribute (money, time, and effort) and what they receive (results and desired benefits) when evaluating products and services [66].

In marketing, perceived value is a key construct in understanding customer behaviors [67]. Perceived value helps us to analyze consumer attitudes toward a trip and to predict subsequent behaviors [66]. Perceived value is understood to consist of two parts: the benefits that the customer receives (economic, social, and relational), and the sacrifices that the customer makes (price, time, effort, risk, and benefit) [68]. In today’s society, many travel companies have realized the importance of creating value for their different target audiences. Creating and delivering value to tourists has become a competitive advantage for many companies [68].

In the research on the influence of the perceived value of tourism on consumers’ behavioral intentions, many scholars believe that it has a positive effect on revisit intentions [69]. For example, Prebensen, Woo, and Uysal [70] regarded tourists’ knowledge level, tourism motivation, and participation as the antecedent variables of the perceived value of a tourism experience and concluded that they have an impact on satisfaction and a positive impact on loyalty. Cheng and Lu [28] found that perceived value has a significant positive impact on tourists’ revisit behaviors, through an investigation of tourists’ island tourism experiences.

The relationship between perceived values and environmentally responsible behaviors has also received attention from scholars. Chiu et al. [71] believed that improving tourists’ perceived values of ecotourism activities can help increase ecotourism activity participation and satisfaction, thereby enhancing tourists’ environmentally responsible behaviors. Kim and Thapa [72] took ecotourism in Jeju Island, South Korea, as their research object and examined the environmentally responsible behaviors and destination loyalty of international tourists. A model was developed to examine how tourists’ perceived values (i.e., quality, emotion, price, and social aspects), flow experiences, and satisfaction affect environmentally responsible behaviors and destination loyalty.

Through the above literature, we found that there have been few academic studies that integrated perceived values, revisit intentions, and environmentally responsible behaviors. Especially in ecotourism research, there is little empirical support for the direct impact of perceived values on environmentally responsible behaviors. From the perspective of the profitability of scenic spots, it is also important to deeply understand the relationship between tourists’ perceived values and revisit intentions. Therefore, this study combined the research viewpoints of previous scholars, to examine the impact of ecotourism tourists’ perceived values on revisit intentions and environmentally responsible behaviors.

2.4. Tourists’ Behavior Intention

Since tourists’ behavioral intentions have become a basic indicator for evaluating the success of destination marketing management, they are an important topic in the field of tourism research [73]. Behavioral intentions are interpreted as the willingness to revisit, repurchase, and recommend tourism products to others [63]. Ajzen proposed the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in 1991; he argued that intention is directly influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, which refers to the customer’s intention to exhibit a special behavior and includes three main factors: attitude to the behavior, subjective intention, and the behavior. Perugini and Bagozzi [74] argued that in many studies, the theory of planned behavior has been used to describe the difference between desire and intention. Compared to intentions, desires are less specific and open. Behavioral intention can be a partial plan, implying a commitment. Intention is considered a significant predictor of behavior.

For tourism researchers and managers, the most favorable indicators of post-visit behavioral intentions are revisit intention [75], recommendation intention [76], and access intention [77]. In this study, tourists’ revisit intention was selected as a research variable. Revisit intention is a key research topic in the study of tourist destinations and has been identified as an important behavioral intention [78]. Exploring tourists’ revisit intentions when participating in different types of tourism has become a main focus [79]. This study holds that revisit intention is the willingness of tourists to visit the same destination again in the future [80]. Chi and Qu [81] believed that the key factor influencing tourists’ revisit intentions is whether the products and services provided to them by tourist destinations were of sufficient quality. In their research, Huang and Liu [82] found that in ecotourism, the better the tourists’ tourism perception, the stronger their revisit intentions.

2.5. Environmentally Responsible Behavior

Ecotourists, or tourists who are environmentally responsible, often demonstrate a greater awareness of environmental protection. Environmentally responsible behavior is considered a key factor in ensuring the successful and sustainable development of ecotourism [83]. Similar concepts of environmentally responsible behavior include environmental protection behavior, environmentally significant behavior, environment-related behavior, environmentally friendly behavior, ecological behavior, and so on. No matter how different the wording of these constructs may be, they all have a common connotation, that of individual actions to help protect the environment [84]. Sivek and Hungerford [85] explored the factors that affect individuals’ environmentally responsible behaviors and pointed out that environmentally responsible behaviors represent the behaviors of individuals or groups to solve environmental problems. Steg and Vlek [86] asserted that environmentally responsible behaviors refer to individual behaviors that help to promote environmental sustainability and reduce negative impacts on the environment. This study adopted the definition of Lee, Lawton, and Weaver [83], who believed that environmentally responsible behavior is a striving to reduce damage to the environment during travel, contributing to the promotion of environmental protection, and not destroying the eco-system where the destination is located.

Previous studies have attempted to further elucidate tourists’ environmental behaviors, by focusing on the factors that influence them. For example, Miller et al. [87] pointed out that information about vegetation degradation caused by environmental damage can improve tourists’ environmental awareness. Tourists with higher sensitivities to environmental attitudes, environmental values, and place attachment are more likely to exhibit a higher awareness of environmental responsibility [88]. Xu et al. [89] took China’s Nansha Wetland Park as an example, to explore the relationship between tourists’ participation, experiences, and environmentally responsible behaviors in wetland ecotourism. Lee and Moscardo [31] investigated the influencing factors on environmental awareness and the corresponding behavioral intentions of Australian resort tourists. This study found that tourists’ own environmental awareness and participation in scenic spot environmental management had a great impact on their environmentally responsible behaviors. It can be seen from the above literature that it is important to understand the factors affecting environmental protection behaviors from the perspective of tourists. This will help scenic location managers to motivate tourists’ environmental protection behaviors, by regulating these influencing factors [89]. Cultivating tourists’ environmentally responsible behaviors is a critical means to achieving the sustainable development of tourism destinations [90].

3. Research Hypotheses

3.1. The Relationship between Perceived Authenticity and Perceived Value in Ecotourism

Arnold’s theory of emotional cognition advocates the influence of the evaluation of a stimulating perceptual situation (perceived authenticity) on cognition (perceived value), which provides a suitable theoretical background to the contemporary tourism discourse [91]. Given the emphasis on destination authenticity in tourism, numerous studies have suggested that authenticity fundamentally serves as a critical functional factor in the derivation of visitors’ values, as authenticity acts as an indicator of the quality of tourist destinations [92].

Apostolakis [93] believed that authenticity is crucial to tourist motivation and the image of destination attractiveness, and can be used as a tourism marketing tool. In his research, he found that perceived authenticity is the basis for improving tourists’ perceived values. An article by Liang, Choi, and Joppe [94] on Airbnb consumers’ repurchase intentions also pointed out that perceived authenticity has a significant impact on reducing Airbnb consumers’ perceived risk and has a positive impact on perceived values. Fu et al. [95] utilized data of mass consumers in the Pearl River Delta region of China and a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) model to explore the relationship between the authenticity, perceived values, and tourist behavioral intentions of purchasing souvenirs in the context of experiential consumption. The research result indicated that the authenticity of souvenirs in experiential consumption activities had a strong positive impact on tourists’ behavioral intentions, through perceived values. Based on the above literature derivation, this study proposes the following hypothesis:

H1. 

Ecotourists’ perceived authenticity has a positive impact on perceived values.

3.2. The Relationship between Perceived Authenticity and Revisit Intentions and Environmentally Responsible Behaviors in Ecotourism

Tourists’ perception of the authenticity of an attraction can determine their decision to travel to a destination [96,97,98]. Research on the impact of perceived authenticity on revisit intentions has been conducted in recent years. For example, Rani, Othman, and Ahmad [99] took Penang as a research site, to explore whether perceived authenticity is a determinant of tourists revisiting heritage tourism destinations and concluded that perceived authenticity is one of the most important factors affecting the intentions of tourists to revisit heritage sites. Chen and Tsai [100] believed that the perceived quality of tourism, perceived values, and overall satisfaction will further enhance tourists’ revisit intentions and willingness to recommend a place to others. Scarpi [101] tested a mediated model based on the hypothesized relationship between event participation, place attachment, perceived authenticity, and revisit intentions in heritage tourism marketing. It was found that perceived authenticity can mediate the relationship between activity participation and revisit intentions. A manager of eco-tourism scenic spots must also consider what factors will affect tourists’ revisit intentions. Therefore, this study proposes the following hypotheses:

H2. 

Ecotourists’ perceived authenticity has a positive effect on revisit intentions.

Various tourist activities and commercial activities may damage the natural and cultural resources of the tourist destination [102,103]. With the deepening of people’s awareness of environmental protection, the research on environmentally responsible behaviors is increasing. Environmentally responsible behavior is an important indicator of the sustainable development of tourism [104]. Although both perceived authenticity and environmentally responsible behaviors have become very popular in recent research, studies focusing on their relationship are scarce [50]. Bearing the strongest resemblance to the present study is that by Cheng, Wu, and Huang [105], whose findings revealed that tourists’ stronger perceptions of the natural attractiveness and ecological uniqueness of an island destination were positively associated with their voluntary commitment to actions with a minimal impact on the natural environment. This knowledge gap was also noted by Azinuddin et al. [106], who investigated the association of perceived ecotourism design affordance and tourists’ pro-environmental behavior. Their empirical evidence urged the collaboration of tourism policy stakeholders, to cultivate their economic, environmental, and ethical responsibilities. Following this, Budruk et al. [107] studied the relationship of archaeological resource preservation and the perceptions of authentic experience at a cultural heritage site. The authors, however, mainly demonstrated the contribution of environment-friendly practices toward visitors’ perceived authenticity of cultural heritage tourism, instead of the other way around. Furthermore, the empirical findings of Kaur et al. [108] proved that consumers’ pro-environmental behavior is significantly determined by perceived green advertisement authenticity regarding the marketing of eco-friendly products.

When tourists travel to an ecotourism destination, whether or not the ecological scene advertised before their arrival is consistent with their experiences during the trip may become a factor in their environmentally responsible behaviors. Therefore, this study proposes the following hypotheses:

H3. 

Ecotourists’ perceived authenticity has a positive impact on their environmentally responsible behaviors.

3.3. The Relationship between Perceived Values and Revisit Intentions in Ecotourism

For scenic spot managers, improving tourists’ perceived values can help predict their post-tour behaviors. Previous studies have analyzed the factors that affect tourists’ revisit intentions. Yen [109] explored the relationship between perceived values and revisit intentions in the context of wine culture festivals and found that perceived values had a positive impact on revisit intentions. In the research on creative tourism, Chang et al. [110] found that experience is an important predictor of creative tourism tourists’ revisit intentions, while perceived value is not sufficient to explain revisit intentions. In different research cases and contexts, the impact of perceived values on revisit intentions is also different. In ecotourism, it is unclear that whether perceived values can affect revisit intentions or not. So this study proposes the following hypothesis:

H4. 

Ecotourists’ perceived values have a positive impact on revisit intentions.

Combined with the assumption that ecotourists’ perceived authenticity has a positive impact on perceived values, we also propose the following hypothesis:

H5. 

Perceived value mediates the relationship between perceived authenticity and revisit intentions.

3.4. The Relationship between Perceived Values and Environmentally Responsible Behaviors in Ecotourism

He et al. [111] studied the relationship between tourists’ perceptions, relationship quality, and environmentally responsible behaviors, and concluded that perceived values positively affect tourists’ environmentally responsible behaviors. However, this study only utilized perceived value as a unidimensional variable for scale design and did not conduct a multi-dimension analysis, ignoring the complexity of perceived value. The measurement of perceived value in the hypothesis of this study referred to Sweeney and Soutar’s (2001) [112] multi-dimensional scale to explore the impact on environmentally responsible behaviors.

The value-belief-norm (VBN) theory was proposed by Stern et al. [113], combining value theory, norm activation theory, and the new ecological model. They combined value orientation, environmental beliefs, awareness of consequences, attribution of responsibility, and personal norms about environmental behaviors. They believed that, from the value orientation to the deeper environmental beliefs to the individual’s threat to the value object and their belief in being responsible for their actions, the individual’s sense of responsibility can finally be stimulated. This theory supports a consideration of this study: can tourists’ perceived values directly affect their environmentally responsible behaviors? This paper makes the following hypothesis:

H6. 

Ecotourists’ perceived values have a positive impact on post-tour environmentally responsible behaviors.

Combined with the assumption that the ecotourists’ perceived authenticity has a positive impact on perceived values, we also propose the following hypothesis:

H7. 

Perceived values mediate the relationship between perceived authenticity and environmentally responsible behaviors.

According to the seven hypotheses proposed in this article, the following research model was constructed (Figure 2).

4. Questionnaire Development

The questionnaire in this study was divided into two parts. The first part included the scale items, and the second part concerned the demographic characteristics, with a total of 34 questions. The scale contained four variables, with a total of 28 questions. The questions of perceived authenticity were derived from Kolar and Zabkar [97], Nguyen and Cheung [114], and Zhang and Yin [115], and the scale was designed from the perspectives of preferences, expectations, feelings, and ways of contacting others. Examples of scale items include “It is exactly the same as I expected during my visiting”; “I feel that the nature landscape such as vegetation and trees are well protected”; and “By traveling here, I get to connect with locals in a genuine and friendly way”. This study divided perceived value into four dimensions. The dimension distinctions came from Sweeney and Soutar [112]; they were emotional, social, quality/performance, and price. The questions referred to Sweeney and Soutar [112], Sanchez et al. [116], Raza et al. [117], Yi et al. [60], Jamal, Othman, and Muhammad [118], Petrick [119], and Perera and Vlosky [120]. Examples of scale items include “It is cost-effective to travel to Huangshan”; “This trip makes me feel many new and different things”; “The service provided at scenic spot makes me comfortable”; “I can get attention of my friends by sharing the knowledge of this trip in the circle of friends”. The revisit intention questions came from Sweeney and Soutar [112], and Perera and Vlosky [120]. Examples of scale items include “I would like to visit here again”; and “I will recommend my relatives and friends to visit here”. The environmentally responsible behavior questions referred to Chiu et al. [71], Lee et al. (2013) [121], and Liao and Satchabut [122]. Examples of scale items include “I will no longer litter and have waste sorting; and “I am willing to choose and stay in a green hotel and choose environmentally friendly means of transportation when travelling”. The items were measured using a Likert five-point scale, which was rated from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree). Demographic characteristics included gender, age, education, travel mode, travel frequency, and number of visits to destinations.

5. Data Collection

The questionnaire distribution site was the Huangshan Scenic Area in Anhui Province, China. Huangshan is a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site. The forest vegetation coverage is nearly 85%, and the vegetation coverage rate is 93%. It is rich in animal and plant resources. It was included in the first International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) green list in 2015. At the same time, the Huangshan Scenic Area is representative of China’s national parks. It is famous for its unique pines, special rocks, sea of clouds, and hot springs, attracting many tourists. On the official website of the Huangshan Scenic Area Management Committee, there are many recommended routes, to promote “ecological health tourism”. There is even a column to promote the protection of Huangshan’s resources. At the same time, many measures have been taken to protect the environment in Huangshan: sanitation workers climb down ropes to pick up garbage from cliffs; hotels adopt high-standard sewage discharge; water circulation systems and water-saving equipment are used in scenic spots; and garbage disposal requirements prevent pollution of the environment. It can be observed that the position of the Huangshan Scenic Area as an ecotourism scenic spot for scenic area operators is beyond doubt. There are also certain restrictions on the number of tourists in Huangshan, especially on statutory holidays. When the number of tourists reaches the limit of 20,000, ticket sales are stopped, avoiding crowding of the scenic spot.

In December 2021, pilot test surveys were distributed by Questionnaire Star to relatives, friends, and classmates who had traveled to the Huangshan Scenic Area, to evaluate the wording, the vocabulary, and whether the respondents had any difficulty in understanding the questionnaire. The questionnaires were sent out via WeChat, instead of email, to ensure that everyone had a chance to see and complete them once. Finally, 99 valid questionnaires were collected, and the questionnaire response rate was 100%. Then, SPSS 23.0 was used to test the reliability of the samples. Cronbach’s alpha values were all greater than 0.8, indicating the data showed good consistency, so all 28 questions were kept.

To minimize the non-response bias of the survey, the following measures were taken: (1) we avoided asking sensitive or confidential information; (2) we ensured the length of survey was short and that it was easy to understand; (3) we provided incentives; and (4) the survey was conducted at the research site, to make sure it was returned. The target population of this research were tourists who visited Huangshan to enjoy ecotourism. The official questionnaires were issued from 31 December 2021 to 5 January 2022. They were distributed using the convenience sampling method. The survey was conducted by a graduate student from Macau University of Science and Technology and a tour guide from 9 am to 5 pm. The questionnaires were handed out to tourists at the tourist rest hall upon arrival from the cable car at the top of Huangshan and in the hotel lobby with a large number of tourists in the scenic area of Huangshan. Local snacks were provided as incentives to tourists who were willing to complete the questionnaire. A total of 554 questionnaires were distributed, of which 502 were valid questionnaires, with an overall response rate of 90%.

6. Demographic Profile

SPSS 23.0 was used for conducting a descriptive statistical and reliability analysis. With regard to the gender of the respondents, there were 284 males (56.6%) and 218 females (43.4%). In terms of the age distribution, the 36–45-year-old group was the highest at 31.37%, accounting for almost one-third, followed by those 26–35 years old at 26.65%. Together, these two age groups accounted for more than half of the tourists. The percentage of people over 65 years old was the lowest at 0.71%, with only three people. From the perspective of education level, the proportion of high school, junior college, and bachelor’s degree respondents was relatively high, and the largest number of people had a bachelor’s degree, accounting for 44.82%. In terms of travel mode, most people (about 223) chose to travel with relatives and friends, accounting for 44.42%; followed by those choosing travel agencies (about 123 people), accounting for 24.50%. This was mainly because the tourists who come to Huangshan are usually families. Regarding the frequency of tourists coming to Huangshan, 282 people had come for the first time, accounting for 56.18%. Only 8.02% had come to Huangshan more than three times (Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 8).

7. Reliability Analysis

This study used Cronbach’s alpha and corrected item–total correlation (CITC) to test reliability. As shown in

Table 1. Reliability analysis (Cronbach’s alpha).

	Cronbach’s Alpha
Perceived authenticity	0.904
Perceived value	0.914
Monetary value	0.812
Quality value	0.898
Emotional value	0.854
Social value	0.842
Revisit intention	0.809
Environmentally responsible behaviors	0.869

, the Cronbach’s alpha value of each scale was above 0.8, indicating that the scale had good internal consistency. CITC is usually utilized to confirm whether an item needs to be deleted. Generally, when the CITC value is lower than 0.4, the item needs to be deleted, because this means that the correlation between the items is very low [123]. As shown in

Table 2. Reliability analysis (CITC).

Item	Corrected Item–Total Correlation (CITC)
Perceived authenticity
PA1	0.738
PA2	0.807
PA3	0.777
PA4	0.727
PA5	0.660
PA6	0.707
Monetary value
PVM1	0.541
PVM2	0.571
PVM3	0.544
Quality value
PQ1	0.722
PQ2	0.643
PQ3	0.648
PQ4	0.703
PQ5	0.672
Emotional value
EV1	0.550
EV2	0.595
EV3	0.586
EV4	0.606
Social value
SV1	0.584
SV2	0.633
SV3	0.624
Revisit intention
RI1	0.590
RI2	0.726
RI3	0.662
Environmentally responsible behaviors
ERB1	0.645
ERB2	0.811
ERB1	0.718
ERB4	0.707

, the CITC values of all questions were above 0.4, so all questions were retained. According to the combined Cronbach’s alpha and CITC, the reliability of the scale used in this study was good.

8. Scale Verification by Confirmatory fa8. Scale Verification by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

The perceived value scale included four dimensions: emotional, social, quality/performance, and price [112]. To test the scale’s validity, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted by running Amos Graphics 23.0. The hypothetical measurement model was assessed against its goodness-of-fit with the sample data (n = 502) (Figure 9). A number of goodness-of-fit statistics, such as the ratio of chi-square to the degrees of freedom (i.e., x²/df), comparative fit index (CFI), incremental fit index (IFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used as measurement criteria. The test results demonstrated that the measurement model was acceptably aligned with the data. The ratio of the x² to the degrees of freedom (x²/df = 1.5) and other goodness-of-fit indices (CFI = 0.99, IFI = 0.95, and RMSEA = 0.03) were in accordance with the well-accepted criteria (1 < x²/df <3, CFI > 0.90, NNFI > 0.90, and RMSEA ≤ 0.08) [124,125].

Following model detection, the composite reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were assessed. As shown in

Table 3. Convergent validity analysis.

Variables	Factor Loadings	AVE	CR
Monetary value	0.700	0.594	0.814
Quality value	0.820	0.644	0.900
Emotional value	0.710	0.597	0.855
Social value	0.770	0.646	0.845

, the composite reliability estimates ranged from 0.81 to 0.90 (greater than the cut-off value of 0.6). Bagozzi and Yi [126] and Nunnally and Bernstein [127] demonstrated a satisfactory internal consistency of multiple indicators for each variable. Additionally indicated in

Table 4. Discrimination validity test.

	Social Value	Emotional Value	Quality Value	Monetary Value
Social value	0.621
Emotional value	0.111	0.397
Quality value	0.125	0.129	0.799
Monetary value	0.150	0.097	0.233	0.663
AVE	0.557	0.517	0.648	0.518

are the factor loadings, ranging from 0.70 to 0.82, which were all larger than 0.5, and the AVE results of the five latent variables were satisfactory (≥0.5), which established convergent validity. As shown in

Table 5. Structural equation model path coefficient.

			Standard Estimates (>0)	S.E.	C.R.	p
Perceived authenticity	→	Perceived value	0.211	0.072	2.948	***
Perceived value	→	Revisit intention	0.413	0.141	2.918	***
Perceived authenticity	→	Revisit intention	0.303	0.106	2.870	***
Perceived value	→	Environmentally responsible behaviors	0.586	0.143	4.092	***
Perceived authenticity	→	Environmentally responsible behaviors	0.297	0.107	2.781	***

Note. Correlation coefficient estimates (*** at p < 0.001) were generated from Amos Graphics.

, the AVEs of each latent variable were greater than the squared correlation coefficients of the two corresponding inter-constructs; and according to Fornell and Larcker [128], discriminant validity was confirmed. In summary, the measurement model proved the good validity of the latent variables.

9. Structure Equation Model (SEM)

This study used AMOS23.0 to build an SEM model, to test the relationship between variables. The corresponding path coefficient was obtained through this operation, and it was determined whether the relationship between the hypothetical variables was established and whether the path was established. In general, the statistics critical ratio (C.R.) and p value are used to judge whether the path between variables is significant. When the critical ratio is greater than 1.96 and the p value is less than 0.05, the effect is significant and has statistical significance. When the p value is less than 0.001, it is very significant, and is generally replaced by “***”. Table 5 shows the final results of the standardized path coefficient table. First, regarding the effect of perceived authenticity on perceived value, its C.R. value was 2.948, and the p-value appeared to be very significant, supporting this hypothesis. The C.R. values of perceived authenticity for revisit intentions and environmentally responsible behaviors were 2.918 and 2.870, respectively, and the p values were also very significant. The C.R. values of the perceived values of revisit intentions and environmentally responsible behaviors were 4.092 and 2.781, respectively, and the p values were significant. Therefore, this hypothesis was confirmed to be true. It can be concluded that the five previously assumed paths were all established.

In order to judge whether perceived value played a mediating role in the perceived authenticity, revisit intentions, and environmentally responsible behaviors, this study utilized the SPSS 23.0 Process plug-in to test the mediating effect and model 4 to analyze the hypotheses, and adopted the bootstrap self-helping method to test the mediating effect of the four dimensions of perceived values and the overall impacts, with a sample size of 5000. This method determines whether there is a mediating effect, by checking whether the 95% confidence interval contains 0 between the lower bound confidence interval and upper bound confidence interval. Regarding the effect proportions, if a and b are significant and c’ is not, they are fully intermediated; if there is a partial mediation, the calculation formula of the effect proportion becomes a*b/c; if it is a suppressing effect, the effect size is the ratio of the mediation effect to the direct effect, and the calculation formula is |a*b/c| [129]. The results are shown in

Table 6. Results of the mediating effect test.

Item	Total Effect (c)	Mesomeric Effect (a*b)	Direct Effect (c’)	95% BootCI	Calculation Formula of Effect Proportion	Proportion of Effects	Inspection Conclusion
Perceived authenticity =〉 Perceived value =〉 Environmentally responsible behaviors	0.454	0.126	0.328	0.087~0.165	a*b/c	27.801%	Partial mediation
Perceived authenticity =〉Perceived value =〉 Revisit intention	0.462	0.144	0.318	0.097~0.175	a*b/c	31.143%	Partial mediation

; the confidence intervals of the two mediations did not contain 0, and the effect proportions were 27.801% and 31.143%, both of which were a*b/c. Thus, the mediation effect was established, and they were all partial intermediaries.

10. Results and Discussion

From the descriptive statistical analysis, we observed that the proportion of males was higher than that of females, and the age group was mainly young and middle-aged. The highest level of educational attainment was undergraduate. This research was conducted in the Huangshan Scenic Area in winter, and the conclusion was similar to that of Gill and Adele [130], who suggested that mountaineering is strongly associated with masculinity. The education level was related to tourists’ willingness to participate in ecotourism activities and to develop their own awareness of environmental protection [131], so people with more education were more willing to visit ecotourism destinations to carry out tourism activities.

This study concluded that tourists’ perceived authenticity and perceived values were positively correlated, confirming that perceived authenticity can be an important predictor of perceived values in ecotourism. This was exactly the conclusion of Liang et al. [94]. In a study of Airbnb consumers’ repurchase intentions, perceived values, and perceived risk, Liang et al. [94] found that perceived authenticity plays a significant role in reducing Airbnb consumers’ perceived risk and positively impacts their perceived values. When tourists go sightseeing in tourist sites, they filter the environmental information they receive and thus generate perceptions [132]. Both perceived authenticity and perceived values originate from tourists’ own feelings during sightseeing, so it is not difficult to understand that there is a correlation between them.

Perceived authenticity had a positive effect on environmentally responsible behaviors, which was consistent with the research conclusion of Dai et al. [133]. Dai [133] found that in heritage tourism, tourists’ perceived authenticity can indirectly influence their environmentally responsible behavior, through destination emotion and tourism quality; while this study found that ecotourism tourists’ perceived authenticity had a direct impact on environmentally responsible behaviors. Tourists’ perceptions of the original ecology of ecological scenic spots directly triggers their intentions to protect the environment and then affect their related behaviors.

The results of this study also indicated that tourists’ perceived values are related to their revisit intentions. This is consistent with the findings of Yen [109]. Yen [109] proposed that consumers’ perceived values in wine tourism attractions are positively correlated with tourists’ revisit intentions. Valuable activities in the winery can motivate tourists to return. In ecotourism, managers of scenic spots can design similar valuable activities to meet tourists’ perceived needs for original ecological scenery and enhance their willingness to return.

He et al. [111] explored the relationship between tourists’ overall perceptions and environmentally responsible behaviors, and the results indicated that tourists’ perceptions can positively affect environmentally responsible behaviors. In their research, perceived value was only a factor in the overall perception. The difference in this study is that it considered perceived value as a more complex and multi-dimensional variable, and the research conclusions were more accurate and comprehensive. If ecotourism scenic spots are to develop sustainably, their managers can begin by enhancing the perceived values of tourists, so that they can obtain information during the sightseeing process, thereby affecting their environmentally responsible behaviors.

11. Theoretical Contribution

With the vigorous development of ecotourism research, research on perceived authenticity is thus necessary. For ecotourism scenic spots, maintaining sustainable development requires the protection of ecological authenticity and the preservation of the authenticity of the scenic spots. Tourists’ perceptions of the authenticity of a tourist destination motivate them to travel to that destination [98]. In the process of tourism, perceived authenticity also affects tourists’ behavioral intentions to a certain extent [62]. This article introduced the concept of perceived authenticity into ecotourism, which provides a new theoretical idea for studying the sustainable development of ecotourism.

In the research on perceived authenticity and perceived values, the effects of the two on behavioral intentions or post-tour behaviors have been confirmed, but few studies have combined these two variables and utilized perceived value as an intermediary variable. The results of this study found that perceived values can play a partial mediating role between perceived authenticity and tourists’ revisit intentions and post-tour environmentally responsible behaviors, expanding the scope of research on perceived values and proposing new research directions.

In addition to studying the direct impact of perceived value on environmentally responsible behaviors, it was also used as an intermediary variable to explore its role between perceived authenticity and environmentally responsible behaviors. As research on the relationship between perceived authenticity and environmentally responsible behaviors in ecotourism is rare, this study has filled a gap in the knowledge on the impact of perceived authenticity on environmentally responsible behaviors, laying a foundation for further related research.

12. Practical Implications

With the improvement of awareness of environmental protection, ecotourism has become increasingly popular among domestic tourists. The managers of ecotourism scenic spots not only need to attract new tourists, but also to encourage former tourists to return to their destinations. From a certain point of view, this can help scenic spots reduce publicity costs and bring a relatively stable income. It is necessary for the scenic spot to continuously improve the tourists’ sense of experience and meet the psychological expectations of tourists, and closely related to this is the perception of tourists during their travels.

Tourists attach importance to the authenticity of a tourist destination, and they will have their own expectations through the information collected in the early research stage and will appreciate the actual landscape, architecture, and scenery. Operators of ecotourism scenic spots can meet the tourists’ authenticity expectations through tourists’ participation in the tourism process and conduct research and feedback in a timely manner, to protect the unique cultural customs of scenic spots.

The restoration of authenticity can refer to the cultural background and customs of the geographical location of the scenic spot. The architectural restoration of some key scenic spots, the inheritance of culture, and the relics of famous people all stimulate tourists’ perception of the authenticity of the area to some extent. At the same time, the management of the scenic spot must improve the maintenance of the original landscape, such as trees, and ensure the ecological maintenance of the scenic spot when there are fewer tourists, such as on non-holidays.

Nowadays, many scenic spots launch “staged” performances and activities aiming to retain tourists’ perceived authenticity. Scenic areas can combine local culture and characteristic geological landforms to host valuable interactive experiences, such as stage plays and folk performances, so that tourists can not only indulge in the charm of natural landscapes, but also be entertained and educated.

As tourists’ revisit intentions and environmentally responsible behaviors are highly influenced by their perceived authenticity and the value of destinations, cross-sectoral organizational stakeholders (e.g., public authorities, industry practitioners, and non-profit organizations that opt to develop ecotourism destinations) are urged to cooperate in planning policies aimed at continuously improving the quality of (eco-)tourism products and/or services, as well as incentivizing (eco-)tourism marketing campaigns. To bring a holistic destination image and ethical responsibility to an ecotourism destination is to use participatory governance approach, where decision-making process does not rely solely on government [134,135].

13. Research Limitation and Future Direction

This study has the following shortcomings: First of all, the samples were collected mainly in winter, which is not the peak tourist season for most ecotourism scenic spots. It was observed from the descriptive analysis that a certain degree of seasonal factors will affect tourists’ willingness to travel. Therefore, subsequent research can take the whole year as a time period and collect samples during different seasons, to exclude these seasonal effects. Second, we selected the Huangshan Scenic Area in Anhui Province as the research site. Although the Huangshan Scenic Area is a very representative ecotourism destination in China, it may only represent a certain type of ecotourism scenic spot, and similar research in the future could be conducted in other types of ecotourism destinations. Finally, collaborative networks can be considered for future pursuits, given that the embeddedness of stakeholders echoes the nature of sustainability-driven policy making in eco-tourism [136,137,138,139]. Such mechanisms are likely to stimulate a more multidisciplinary approach in the policy field and enhance the theoretical development of eco-tourism research [140].