Impact of Situational Environmental Education on Tourist Behavior—A Case Study of Water Culture Ecological Park in China

Abstract

With the increasing number of travelling people, the behavior of tourists is having an increasing impact on the environment. Situational environmental education will influence the tourists’ responsible environmental behavior, which positively or negatively affects the environment. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of situational environmental education on tourists’ responsible environmental behavior through a field study of Changchun Water Culture Ecological Park, combined with a survey and Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) interview method. There are 527 questionnaires, 89 pre-questionnaires, and 15 interview records collected. The results showed that: (1) All interviewees were impressed with the situational environmental education in the park. It can be concluded that the situational environmental education is easily accepted. The reason may be that, among the theme park users, 42.69% were aged 21–30 year’s old, and 62.8% of the population have a college degree or above. (2) The standardized path coefficient of situational environmental education in tourist destinations for tourists’ behavioral intention is 0.74, and the standardized path coefficient for responsible environmental behavior is 0.78, which is much higher than the standard value of 0.4. Therefore, situational environmental education has positive influences on the tourists’ behavioral intention and responsible environmental behavior. (3) The sensitive analysis the tourists’ behavioral intention has a positive relationship with attitudes toward environmental behaviors (0.66), subjective norm (0.53), and perceptual behavior control (0.52). The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for the planning and design of urban parks.

Water pollution generated by tourism: Review of system dynamics models

“…Environmental education and awareness play an essential role in fostering sustainable practices and mitigating the negative impacts of tourism on water-related ecosystems. Previous studies have illustrated its importance for changing tourists' behaviors and inculcating responsible environmental practices [ 168 ], with situational environmental education having positive influences on behavioral intentions as well as responsible environmental behavior [ 169 ]. Therefore, including environmental education initiatives in water tourism practices could significantly contribute to raising awareness while encouraging sustainable tourism practices.…”

Achieving Sustainable Tourism: Analysis of the Impact of Environmental Education on Tourists’ Responsible Behavior

“…Most of the present research tends to concentrate on the environmental education that people receive throughout their childhood [16,22], neglecting the environmental education people receive in tourist destinations and the mechanisms of its influence on responsible environmental behavior. This unconscious environmental education provided by tourist destinations often has an important influence on tourists' responsible environmental behavior [23]. Therefore, it is vital to research education's effect on tourists' responsible environmental behavior and identify the most effective approaches for intervention.…”

“…REB REB1 I will safeguard the natural beauty of the tourist attraction from any harm. [7,23,36] REB2 I will ensure proper disposal of any waste generated during my travels. REB3 I will refrain from purchasing products that harm the tourist attraction environment.…”

The impact of environment-friendly short videos on consumers’ low-carbon tourism behavioral intention: A communicative ecology theory perspective

“…Relevant studies have pointed out that environmental education for tourists is one of the most effective ways to stimulate tourists’ pro-environment behavior ( Li et al, 2019 ). There is a high correlation between tourists’ perception of environmental education and their intention to participate in environmental protection ( Wang et al, 2022a ), which can promote tourists’ pro-environment behaviors to a certain extent. On the contrary, lack of environmental education perception is likely to decrease tourists’ intention to protect the environment ( Li et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Individuals having strong empathy for nature are likely to pay more attention to the problems faced by nature and are able to think from the perspective of nature ( Jing et al, 2022 ). Wang et al (2022a) believed that empathy with nature should be taken as the starting point for the study of pro-environment behavior. Empathy with nature is helpful to enhance the emotional connection between humans and nature, and promote individuals’ environmentally responsible behavior.…”