How Tourists' Psychological Ownership of Water Resources in Scenic Spots Affects Their Water Conservation Awareness

With the increasing global water shortage, the management of water resources in scenic spots, as tourist-intensive areas, is of particular importance. Tourists' behaviors have a direct impact on the sustainable water utilization, while psychological ownership and green psychological climate are considered to be the key factors influencing their water conservation awareness. The aim of this study was to assess how the interaction effect between tourists' psychological ownership of water resources in scenic spots and green psychological climate on tourists' water conservation awareness, and to explore the changes in tourists' water conservation awareness at different levels of psychological ownership and green psychological climate. The experimental design performed with virtual scenic spots, data collected through questionnaires, were all employed together with ANOVA to analyze the relationship between psychological ownership, green psychological climate and water conservation awareness, and to test the existence of interaction effects. The results of the analyses supported the positive effects of psychological ownership and green psychological climate on water conservation awareness, and revealed a significant interaction effect between the two. In addition, it was found that tourists' water conservation awareness was unexpectedly enhanced at lower levels of psychological ownership and green psychological climate. This study highlights the importance of fostering tourists' psychological ownership and constructing a positive green psychological climate to promote water conservation awareness. For scenic spot managers, tourists' psychological ownership can be enhanced through education, publicity, participatory experiences and personalized feedback, while optimized environmental design and practices can help construct a green psychological climate.