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Lokonon BE, Tchandao Mangamana E, Glèlè Kakaï R. Residents' perception and impact of COVID-19 on ecotourism in West Africa: The case of Banco National Park in Côte d'Ivoire. Heliyon 2023; 9:e21832. [PMID: 38027724 PMCID: PMC10651493 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecotourism, as a means of fostering socio-economic level of local communities and contributing to the conservation of forest resources, is important for development in low-income countries. This work investigates the extent to which local people support the continuation of ecotourism during the COVID-19 pandemic and their attitudes towards resource conservation in Banco National Park in Côte d'Ivoire using social exchange theory (SET) as a foundation. A closed-ended questionnaire was used to conduct a survey with 150 informants selected among residents around the park. The data were analyzed using descriptive, correlational, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approaches. The results showed that residents' perception of the impacts of ecotourism strongly affects their support for tourism development during the COVID-19 pandemic (β = 0.918, p < 0.05). The socio-cultural (β = 0.275, p < 0.05) and environmental (β = 0.309, p < 0.05) benefits of ecotourism are the key determinants of the residents' perception and their support for ecotourism within the park during COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also revealed that economic benefits from ecotourism are linked to residents' perceptions of the qualities of the tourism place (β = 0.363, p < 0.05). Overall, local people around Banco Park recognize that ecotourism produces more benefits than detriments. The COVID-19 pandemic, a painful and unexpected event, has not blunted their support for the continuation of ecotourism. This study calls for the integration of local residents' opinions in the development of the ecotourism sector in Côte d'Ivoire. It is a first step in determining residents' attitudes towards ecotourism in West Africa in a post-COVID context, and the results constitute a starting point for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Enagnon Lokonon
- Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d’Estimations Forestières, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 04 BP 1525, Cotonou, Benin
| | - Essomanda Tchandao Mangamana
- Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d’Estimations Forestières, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 04 BP 1525, Cotonou, Benin
| | - Romain Glèlè Kakaï
- Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d’Estimations Forestières, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 04 BP 1525, Cotonou, Benin
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Valizadeh N, Jalilian S, Hallaj Z, Esfandyari Bayat S, Hayati D, Bazrafkan K, Kianmehr N, Akbari M. Encouraging adoption of green manure technology to produce clean rice product. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8690. [PMID: 37248266 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35964-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Green manure is used as an environmentally friendly technology to produce clean agricultural products. This technology not only helps reduce environmental and health concerns, but can also increase productivity. Green manure is especially needed in the production of paddy. Because rice as a strategic product is the main food of people in many countries of the world. Rice production using green manure can enable countries to develop and increase healthy production. However, the acceptance of this technology is low in many rice producing countries. In this regard, this study used an integrated and extended version of the theory of planned behavior to predict and encourage the adoption of green manure technology in Iran. To collect the required data, a cross-sectional survey was performed among Iranian rice growers and the results of hypothesis testing were analyzed using partial least squares-based structural equation modeling. The results revealed that moral norms of green manure, attitude towards green manure, perceived behavioral control on using green manure, and trialability of green manure have positive and significant effects on intention towards using green manure. In addition, bootstrap analysis showed that moral norms of green manure and trialability of green manure positively and significantly mediated the (indirect) effects of subjective norms towards application of green manure on intention towards using green manure. The results led to important practical and theoretical implications that could provide new insights for policy-makers, planners, and practitioners to develop and encourage the adoption of green manure technology to produce clean and healthy agricultural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naser Valizadeh
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 7144165186, Iran.
| | - Sara Jalilian
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Tehran, 7144165186, Iran
| | - Zeynab Hallaj
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Tehran, 1497713111, Iran
| | - Samira Esfandyari Bayat
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Tehran, 1497713111, Iran
| | - Dariush Hayati
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 7144165186, Iran
| | - Khadijeh Bazrafkan
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 7144165186, Iran
| | - Nazanin Kianmehr
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 7144165186, Iran
| | - Morteza Akbari
- Department of Technological Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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Zhou Z, Mehmood S, Khan AA, Ahmad Z, Khan S. Revival of sun-and-beach tourism through the lens of regulatory and risk dimensions of environmental sustainability. Heliyon 2022; 8:e10893. [PMID: 36247157 PMCID: PMC9562339 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental sustainability is essential in tourism literature, and sun-and-beach tourism (SBT) is one of the most popular subsections of the tourism field. The appropriate policies and strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic to revive SBT growth through the lens of the regulatory dimension (RED) and risk dimension (RID) of environmental sustainability are gaining timely ground to conduct this research. The current study examined the nexus between SBT, RED, and RID utilizing three novel indexes (i.e., weighted sun-and-beach tourism index, weighted regulatory dimension index, and weighted risk dimension index) by employing the principal component analysis within the framework of six stages of empirical estimation strategy. These three novel indexes combine the most commonly used SBT, RED, and RID indicators. This research tested the CSD and homogeneous, then employed the second generation CIPS-CADF panel unit root test, used an AMG estimator, and employed the panel Toda-Yamamoto (PTY) causality test. The findings revealed that the RED positively influences SBT while the RID mitigates SBT. Results also indicate bidirectional causality between SBT, RID, and RED. In other words, changes in RID and RED have predictive power for the SBT, which further highlights the role of SBT on the RID and RED. Therefore, concerned authorities can focus on environmental sustainability design initiatives and appropriate policy/strategy implications to boost SBT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Zhou
- College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China
| | - Shafaqat Mehmood
- College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China,Corresponding author.
| | - Ather Azim Khan
- Faculty of Management and Administrative Sciences, University of Sialkot, Pakistan
| | - Zahid Ahmad
- Faculty of Management Studies, University of Central Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Salman Khan
- College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China
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