Perceptions of Climate Change Risk and Place Attachment: Parallel Indirect Associations Through In-Visit Evaluations of Memorable Tourism Experience and the Perceived Future Benefits of Edible Insects

This study examines cross-sectional associations between climate change risk perception (CCRP) and place attachment (PA) among Arabic-speaking tourists visiting Ayder Plateau, Türkiye, through two parallel mediators: in-visit evaluations of memorable tourism experience qualities (MTE) and perceived future benefits of edible insects (PFBEI). Face-to-face convenience sampling between 22 July and 7 August 2026 yielded 435 questionnaires; 398 remained after multivariate outlier screening. Structural equation modeling and bias-corrected bootstrapping (5000 resamples) indicated positive associations of CCRP with MTE (β = 0.367) and PFBEI (β = 0.444), but no significant adjusted CCRP–PA association (β = 0.023). MTE (β = 0.699) and PFBEI (β = 0.165) were positively associated with PA, and both indirect associations were significant (MTE: β = 0.257; 95% CI [0.172; 0.353]; PFBEI: β = 0.073; 95% CI [0.034; 0.130]). With an unmeasured latent method factor, the MTE indirect association remained significant, whereas the PFBEI–PA association did not (β = 0.022; p = 0.750). MTE reflects momentary evaluations of the ongoing experience, not post-travel recall. Robustness to excluding 37 outliers could not be tested, country of origin was not recorded, and potential confounders were unmeasured; these are serious limitations, and the findings should be interpreted with caution.