Involvement, place attachment, and environmentally responsible behaviour connected with geographical indication products

Bonds between people and place are an important predictor of a tourist's environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB). From a holistic perspective, the connection between people and place can be divided into bonds formed before the visit and those formed after the visit. However, insufficient research has been carried out on the bond formed between visitors and destination before the visit. This relationship between before visit and after visit people-place bonds, as well as how this relationship impacts visitor experience and environmentally responsible behaviour brings new understanding to the tourist experience. The origin site of the famous Chinese geographical indication (GI) product, Hangzhou Xihu Longjing Tea, is a place where such a people-place bond is formed before the visit and site involvement. Based on a sample of 371 questionnaires, it is verified that the people-place bond formed before the visit is worthy of attention. As when tourists form a strong connection between people and place through GI products before visiting the destination, they have better experience, stronger attachment to the place, and easier implementation of environmental protection behaviours. It also suggests that managers should make good use of GI resources to promote sustainable tourism and extend the scope of destination management to the stage before tourists visit.