How do people negotiate through their constraints to engage in pro-environmental behavior? A study of front-country campers in Alberta, Canada Farhad Moghimehfar a, * , Elizabeth A. Halpenny b a Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada b Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, 2-130G University Hall, Van Vliet Complex, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H9, Canada highlights  Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural aspects of constraints were studied.  Negotiation mitigates the negative inﬂuence of constraints on behaviors.  Motivations and knowledge inﬂuence perception of constraints and negotiation. article info Article history: Received 22 December 2015 Received in revised form 29 June 2016 Accepted 1 July 2016 Keywords: Constraints Negotiation Motivation Knowledge Pro-environmental behavior abstract This study examined structural models of associations among constraints to pro-environmental nature- based tourism behavior, negotiation through these constraints, motivations to engage in pro- environmental behavior, and knowledge of pro-environmental activities. Three types of constraints (i.e., intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural) were investigated to obtain a detailed understanding of barriers to pro-environmental tourism behavior. Structural models were tested using data obtained from front-country campers (n ¼ 1009) in Alberta, Canada. Results showed that constraints negatively and directly inﬂuence intention. Negotiation and knowledge positively and directly inﬂuenced intention. Motivation and knowledge directly and negatively inﬂuenced constraints, and directly and positively inﬂuenced negotiation. The mitigating effect of negotiation on the association between constraints and intention was supported by the data. The theoretical and practical implications relating speciﬁcally to constraints to engaging in pro-environmental nature-based tourism activities are emphasized. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In North America, nature-based tourism and outdoor recreation play an important role in many aspects of people's lives. From enjoyment of the aesthetics of the natural world to its contribution to physical and mental well-being, nature-based tourism activities have been very popular in recent decades (Clawson & Knetsch, 2013). The value of protecting natural resources increases along with the growing demand for this type of tourism. Among different nature-based tourism activities, camping is a very popular type of outdoor recreation with a high level of people-nature interaction (Cole, 2004; Van Heerden, 2008). Camping, which ranges from spending at least one night in a basic tent to staying in a full-service campground in a luxury recreational vehicle (RV) or upscale cabin, continues to be a popular North American recreation activity (Ellis, 2010). Nature-based activities play a major role in Canada's tourism industry. For instance, Alberta Parks, the provincial park manage- ment department for Alberta, reported that 77% of the provincial residents had visited provincial parks at some point in their lives. In 2014, over 1,300,000 park visitors stayed in Alberta Parks' camp- grounds (Alberta Parks, 2014). Many other campers used random or free camping sites in the province. The popularity of camping il- lustrates the importance of studying campers' pro-environmental behavior during their stay in this type of accommodation. The high levels of human-nature involvement during camping activities as well as the consumptive nature of accommodation activities * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: farhad.moghimehfar@unbc.ca (F. Moghimehfar), elizabeth. halpenny@ualberta.ca (E.A. Halpenny). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Tourism Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.07.001 0261-5177/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Tourism Management 57 (2016) 362e372