Abstract
Owing to the rich forest resources in mountain areas, there are various popular hiking
activities in Taiwan. Determining how to provide suitable trails for hikers has become a
noteworthy issue. The effects of recreation motivation and of activity involvement on place attachment were verified in several previous empirical studies. However, relationships among
them have not yet been simultaneously examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among hikers’ recreation motivation, activity involvement, and place attachment (comprised of place dependence and place identity). We conducted a questionnaire survey and selected hikers on the trail of Guanzihling Dadong Mt. in Tainan City as sampling subjects. In total, 364 valid questionnaires were obtained. Statistical software of structural
equation modeling Amos 18 was used to perform a confirmatory factor analysis to estimate parameters of the model, identify the relationship of the overall model, and test the fitness.
Results showed that activity involvement was a stronger predictor of the 2 dimensions (place dependence and place identity) of place attachment compared to that of recreation motivation.
In terms of the overall model, recreation motivation, activity involvement, and place dependence were all antecedents that had an effect on place identity. Additionally, activity involvement
played a mediating role between recreation motivation and place attachment (both dimensions
of place dependence and place identity).