An Integrative Model of Tourists’ Pro-Environmental Behavior Based on the Dual Path of Rational Planning and Embodied Emotion

Tourists’ pro-environmental behavior is one of the key factors for the sustainable development of natural scenic spots. Although this behavior depends on the surroundings and context, the existing literature lacks the perspective of specific scenarios, especially that of embodied emotions. This research integrated the theory of planned behavior and embodied theory to construct an integrative model of pro-environmental behavior that combined tourists’ “rational planning” and “embodied emotion” and conducted an empirical study. The results show that in natural scenic spots, “rational planning” and “embodied emotion” affect tourists’ pro-environmental behavior simultaneously on dual paths, and factors such as behavioral attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, engagement with nature, and connectedness to nature have different effects on high- and low-effort pro-environmental behavioral intentions. The findings of the study provide a new explanatory perspective for individual pro-environmental behaviors and a basis for effectively predicting and guiding tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors in natural scenic spots.