Thesis (BS Architecture) University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2018

There are many tourist destinations that are facing environmental problems. Tinuy-an Falls, located in Bislig City, was declared as a protected area under the category of protected landscape pursuant to the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992. Its beauty is becoming more popular especially to local tourists. The major tourism stakeholders should be responsible in their actions towards a place.
There have been theories relating place attachment with Environmentally Responsible Behavior that believes that the more someone is attached to a place, the more he or she will care for it. This study inquired about the most significant physical and social factors influencing place attachment of the local community members and visitors towards Tinuy-an as a tourist destination.
The research methods used in gathering the data were on-site observation and survey questionnaires. First, to know the current state of the site, the physical features of Tinuy-an were documented through photos and field notes. Next, survey questionnaires were conducted with the local community members of Barangay Burboanan which is the host community, and with the visitors. The data was then consolidated and statistically treated.
For the local community, Air quality and Accessibility are the most significant physical factors in influencing place attachment to Tinuy-an and their community. For the visitors, Diversity and quality of attractions/views and Building Aesthetics most influence their attachment to Tinuy-an. For the social factors, Lifeguard as an activity/social interaction for the locals most influences the local community members’ attachment to Tinuy-an while Interaction and talking with the locals most influences visitors’ attachment to Tinuy-an.
Local community members were more concerned with the physical factors that benefited them such as the air quality and the accessibility. Meanwhile, visitors were more into the offered tourism experience such as the attractions/views and the building aesthetics. For the social factors, the locals feel more attached if they were more involved in tourism such as lifeguard as an employment. The visitors will feel attached if they were able to interact with the locals. The results were used to formulate architectural guidelines for a tourism destination. Since the current study focused on only one area, the results were also mostly suited for Tinuy-an. Study areas of more than one can also provide a more reliable data.