The role of variety seeking in consumers’ fish consumption: a study in Sri Lanka

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the role of variety seeking behaviour towards fish consumption frequency. Second, it aimed to investigate how personality related factors; variety seeking tendency (related to food and personality) and perceived behavioural control affect the nature of variety seeking behaviour. Third, to investigate how product and motivational related factors; attitudes, health involvement and perceived risk affect the nature of variety seeking behaviour and fish consumption in the Sri Lankan context. In line with Hoyer and Ridgway (1984) proposed framework, a conceptual framework was developed with the constructs of variety seeking behaviour, variety seeking tendency (related to food and personality), perceived behavioural control, attitudes, health involvement, perceived risk and fish consumption frequency to achieve the objectives. A questionnaire survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 250 consumers in Galle in Sri Lanka. The items used to measure the constructs were either taken or adopted from the previous research studies. Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling in AMOS 16.0 were employed to analysis the data. This study found that variety seeking behaviour plays a vital role in fish consumption frequency among consumers. The findings confirmed the theory that variety seeking tendency as a general personality trait positively influences the variety seeking tendency related to food (VST Food) while specific VST Food showing a significant effect on fish consumption frequency. Health involvement was found to be positively significant with fish consumption frequency as well as with the VST Food while having an insignificant relationship with the variety seeking behaviour. Conveneinec/ availability, price/ value and knowledge were not significant indicators of perceived control. Nevertheless, PBC and perceived risk act as a barrier for variety seeking behaviour. However, the effect of perceive risk on the fish consumption frequency was negligible. Surprisingly, attitudes did not have a significant impact on either fish consumption frquency or variety seeking behaviour. The main reason for this is probably skewness of the data set. Practical implications drawn from this research are that fish marketers should tap the consumers’s intrinsic desire for variation through providing different fish species in to the market place. Further, it is suggested that providing information on the most commonly eaten fish species by the government authorities through mass media will reduce the perceived risk and PBC associated with variation of fish and stimulate the health involvement towards variation of fish consumption. This research has contributed to fill the gap in variety seeking behaviour literature in which specifically incorporating effect of both personal related and product/ motivational related factors. This research was based on a convenience sample of consumers which did not represent the whole population, thus the results could not generalize to Sri Lanka. Future research should uncover additional individual and product related factors and their interactions which may relevant to explain variety seeking behaviour. Keywords: Variety seeking behaviour, variety seeking tendency, health involvement, PBC, attitudes, perceived risk, fish consumption frequency, Sri Lank

Economic valuation of climate change impacts on ecotourism in Rekawa coastal wetland in Sri Lanka: Application of stated preference techniques

The research presented in this thesis has focused on the economic valuation of climate change impacts on ecotourism in a coastal wetland using three different methods of stated-preference techniques to provide answers to different research questions related to coastal tourism and climate change. Rekawa coastal wetland in Southern Sri Lanka was taken as the empirical context to examine the identified research questions. The first issue studied in this thesis concerns the balance between conservation goals and the development of ecotourism in coastal wetland management. Our findings provide empirical evidence suggesting that ecotourism is not only an economically viable industry but also a good ecological policy instrument. This since economic benefits arising from ecotourism can be used for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation by ensuring habitat protection for a broad set of species. We have proved that well-managed sustainable tourism in and around coastal wetlands can bring important economic and ecological benefits. The second research question attempts to provide a regional perspective on intended future visitation behavior of both domestic and foreign tourists to a coastal wetland under climate change impacts explained by a climate change induced environmental index based on IPCC scenarios. The climate change induced environmental index that we developed, was found to be a significant determinant of intended visitation behavior of tourists. The final part of the research refers to tourists’ preferences and willingness to pay for restoration of mangroves to reduce the climate change impacts on ecotourism. Our findings highlight the importance of mangrove protection as an adaptation strategy to minimize the climate change impacts. Tourists’ preferences and willingness to pay for mangrove protection support the formation of an environmental protection fund and use of it in different mangrove protection measures. If increasing impacts of climate change are unattended in a timely fashion with site-specific adaptation measures, future ecotourism in coastal wetlands could be at risk

Willingness to pay for mangrove restoration to reduce the climate change impacts on ecotourism in Rekawa coastal wetland, Sri Lanka

This study investigates tourist preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for restoration of mangroves to reduce the effects of climate change (CC) on ecotourism at Rekawa coastal wetland, Sri Lanka, using a double bounded discrete choice elicitation format in a contingent valuation method. The survey also included socio-economic, demographic, and attitudinal characteristics of respondents. The results reveal that domestic and foreign tourists on average were willing to pay 2.65 USD and 11.4 USD per person, respectively, for mangrove restoration in Rekawa wetland. Among socio-demographic variables, education, age, and occupation had a significant effect on WTP. Furthermore, we show that foreign respondents with greater trust in the role of mangroves in mitigating the impacts of CC on sea turtles, and domestic tourists who believed effects of mangrove restoration in reducing the future vulnerability of urban expansion, were willing to pay more for the proposed mangrove restoration fund. Based on tourists’ preferences and WTP for mangrove protection, our results support the establishment of an environmental protection fund from the collection of tourists’ entrance fees using a dual pricing strategy, and the use of the funds for planting mangroves, patrolling mangrove areas to prevent illegal activities, and promoting nature-based tourism activities

The role of variety seeking in consumers’ fish consumption: a study in Sri Lanka

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the role of variety seeking behaviour towards fish consumption frequency. Second, it aimed to investigate how personality related factors; variety seeking tendency (related to food and personality) and perceived behavioural control affect the nature of variety seeking behaviour. Third, to investigate how product and motivational related factors; attitudes, health involvement and perceived risk affect the nature of variety seeking behaviour and fish consumption in the Sri Lankan context. In line with Hoyer and Ridgway (1984) proposed framework, a conceptual framework was developed with the constructs of variety seeking behaviour, variety seeking tendency (related to food and personality), perceived behavioural control, attitudes, health involvement, perceived risk and fish consumption frequency to achieve the objectives. A questionnaire survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 250 consumers in Galle in Sri Lanka. The items used to measure the constructs were either taken or adopted from the previous research studies. Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling in AMOS 16.0 were employed to analysis the data. This study found that variety seeking behaviour plays a vital role in fish consumption frequency among consumers. The findings confirmed the theory that variety seeking tendency as a general personality trait positively influences the variety seeking tendency related to food (VST Food) while specific VST Food showing a significant effect on fish consumption frequency. Health involvement was found to be positively significant with fish consumption frequency as well as with the VST Food while having an insignificant relationship with the variety seeking behaviour. Conveneinec/ availability, price/ value and knowledge were not significant indicators of perceived control. Nevertheless, PBC and perceived risk act as a barrier for variety seeking behaviour. However, the effect of perceive risk on the fish consumption frequency was negligible. Surprisingly, attitudes did not have a significant impact on either fish consumption frquency or variety seeking behaviour. The main reason for this is probably skewness of the data set. Practical implications drawn from this research are that fish marketers should tap the consumers’s intrinsic desire for variation through providing different fish species in to the market place. Further, it is suggested that providing information on the most commonly eaten fish species by the government authorities through mass media will reduce the perceived risk and PBC associated with variation of fish and stimulate the health involvement towards variation of fish consumption. This research has contributed to fill the gap in variety seeking behaviour literature in which specifically incorporating effect of both personal related and product/ motivational related factors. This research was based on a convenience sample of consumers which did not represent the whole population, thus the results could not generalize to Sri Lanka. Future research should uncover additional individual and product related factors and their interactions which may relevant to explain variety seeking behaviour. Keywords: Variety seeking behaviour, variety seeking tendency, health involvement, PBC, attitudes, perceived risk, fish consumption frequency, Sri Lank

Is the Sri Lankan ecotourism industry threatened by climate change? A case study of Rekawa coastal wetland using contingent visitation approach

This study investigates intended visitation behavior of tourists toward Rekawa wetland under anticipated climate change (CC) scenarios. An interview-based contingent visitation survey was conducted with 365 foreign and domestic tourists to estimate the effects of CC on future visitation. Based on two IPCC scenarios using two direct and three indirect climatic factors, we composed a CC environmental index. The results show a decline in number of trips equal to 43 per cent and 53 per cent under scenarios 1 and 2 respectively, but the difference is not significant. Foreign and domestic tourists differ significantly with regard to socio-demographic characteristics and beliefs about CC effects at Rekawa. Controlling for such differences, we demonstrate that foreign tourists are less likely than domestic tourists to reduce future visitation to Rekawa due to CC impacts. Still, the future of ecotourism at Rekawa wetland is at risk if adaptation measures are not taken to meet CC impacts

Balancing conservation goals and ecotourism development in coastal wetland management in Sri Lanka: A choice experiment

Understanding the tradeoff between tourism development and environmental conservation is essential for the sustainable management of ecotourism. Accordingly, we conducted a choice experiment (CE) using valuation workshops to estimate the preferences of foreign tourists for ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation in Rekawa coastal wetland in Southern Sri Lanka. Transforming preferences into marginal willingness to pay (MWTP), shows that guided-boat trips in Rekawa lagoon is the most important development attribute, followed by increased beach cleanup activities. The MWTP for smaller turtle-watching groups is much lower, but still significant. Tourists are also willing to pay for conservation in the form of efforts to reduce losses in biodiversity. The fact that the CE asks for contributions to future management and improvement fund, and because that many tourists do not intend to return to Rekawa, this implies that elicited values can be interpreted as either non-use or option values for those who intend to return