Can ecotourism development promote residents' environmental concern: a quasi-natural experiment from China

Destination residents' environmental concern (REC) is a pivotal force in promoting sustainable destination development. However, empirical evidence on how ecotourism development affects REC is scarce within the framework of tourism economics. Based on a quasi-natural experiment of China's National Ecotourism Demonstration Area (CNEDA) designation, we fill this gap using multi-source data of 282 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2019. The evidence indicates that CNEDA designation significantly promotes destination REC and passes the robustness tests, but this effect is short-term. The positive impact is amplified in tourism-dependent cities. The impact of ecotourism development on REC is structurally different, favouring promote residents' ecological values and environmental cognitions over environmental behavioural intention. Relevant policy implications are also provided.