Jeju Island is a popular destination in South Korea that is dependent on nature-based tourism. The annual increase in the influx of visitors has created major environmental impacts due to overuse and commercial expansion. With projected growth in arrivals and the development of tourism infrastructure, the island will experience perpetual challenges for sustainable management of natural resources. However, the role of visitors will be central via a commitment to practice pro-environmental behaviors to protect the island from further degradation. This study was grounded in the cognition-affection-attitude-behavior model to examine the predictive validity of tourists’ environmental knowledge, environmental affect, and nature affiliation on pro-environmental behavior. The data comprised responses from 304 domestic visitors who had visited Jeju Island. The empirical findings indicate that environmental affect was significantly impacted by two dimensions of environmental knowledge (i.e., subjective and objective). Additionally, nature affiliation was positively impacted by environmental affect, while pro-environmental behavior was significantly influenced by both environmental affect and nature affiliation. Overall, these findings provide theoretical and practical implications for sustainable tourism at a nature-based destination. The findings can be utilized for implementation of intervention programs and visitor management at Jeju Island.

This study examines the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and poverty in terms of geographic access to 2,635 food stores of three types (supermarkets, grocery stores, and convenience stores) in the tricounty Detroit metropolitan area (DMA). Prior research not only lacks an intersectional view of sociodemographic categories in explicating food store access, but it also fails to provide place-based policies to remedy food policy invisibility. The authors explore whether spatial dependencies among food stores exist and whether these are linked to sociodemographic heterogeneity in the DMA. Food stores are clustered across suburban and rural areas surrounding urban boundaries but are less clustered in the inner city. Poor neighborhoods have varying access to different types of food stores depending on the predominant racial/ethnic composition of the neighborhood. This research can assist policy makers in implementing place-based food interventions and policies, especially attracting new supermarkets and grocery stores to the urban DMA.

Previous environmental justice studies of urban green spaces (UGSs) have typically focused on issues of race/ethnicity or income level in Western countries and given limited attention to other dimensions of social disadvantage in Asian countries. To address this research gap, we examined distributional equity/inequity of UGSs among senior citizens living alone, single-mother families, individuals with disability, and basic livelihood security recipients in Seoul, South Korea. A geographically weighted regression was employed via a case study of 424 Dong districts in Seoul. Findings showed spatially heterogeneous equitable and inequitable access to UGSs; solitary seniors and single-mother families were more likely to experience inequitable access to UGSs, whereas people with disability and basic livelihood security recipients were more likely to have equitable access to UGSs. Seoul park management agencies could use the study findings to allocate resources for groups/regions that are in need of more access to UGSs.

Visitors’ behavior in national parks can be influenced by seasonal variations in climate and preferred activities. Seasonality can produce different space consumption patterns, and impact visitor experience and natural resource use. The purpose of this study was to explore the seasonal spatial patterns of visitors’ activities using a mobile exercise application within the context of Seoraksan National Park in South Korea. A dataset composed of 5142 starting and ending points of 2639 activities (hiking and walking) created by 1206 mobile exercise application users (January–December 2015) were collected from a leading mobile exercise application operator. GIS-based spatial analytical techniques were used to analyze the spatial patterns of activity points across seasons and days (weekdays/weekends). Results indicated considerable seasonal and daily variations in activity distribution and hot spots (i.e., locations of potential congestion or crowding). The findings enable park managers to mitigate negative impacts to natural resources as well as enhance visitors’ experiences. Also, it allows potential visitors to decide when to visit certain sites via mobile application to ensure optimal conditions. Furthermore, the GPS-based exercise mobile application can be used as a new methodological approach to understand spatio-temporal patterns of visitors’ behavior within national parks and other natural protected areas.

On 21 October 2016, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law prohibiting advertisements for illegal short-term rentals. This study examines the impact of the regulation on the performance of peer-to-peer accommodations and offers new empirical evidence about illegal rental property listings in New York City. To achieve the study aims, a difference-in-differences technique was performed via a case study of 177,424 Airbnb listings in New York City and Washington, DC. The analyses showed that the monthly revenues of Airbnb listings that were subject to the regulation decreased in the period following the passage of the regulation, suggesting that the regulation was effective in restricting Airbnb performance. The findings can contribute to an ongoing regulatory conversation about short-term rentals and have immediate implications for state legislators.