Does Sustainable Certification Knowledge Influence Tourist Behavior?

In this study, the investigators use scores from the Tourist Ecological Orientation (TEO) Scale (Uriely, Reichel & Shani, 2007) of Costa Rica visitors to understand how their ecological orientation and interest in ecological practices influence accommodation and destination site choices. Results from this study were intended to be used to inform professionals in the tourism industry on how they might best develop their tourism sites, policies and programs according to the ecological orientation of the visitors. Based on the findings from this study, however, it seems that the Tourist Ecological Orientation Score derived by Uriely, Reichel and Shani (2007) is not appropriate for differentiating tourist behaviors. As such, it is not recommended for use in developing sites, policies and programs or otherwise marketing them to tourists. 1 James et al.: Does Sustainable Certification Knowledge Influence Tourist Behavi Published by ScholarWorks@GVSU, 2010 Journal of Tourism Insight s Vol. 1 No. 1 60 their environmental attitudes and values translate into preferences to their destination choices. The investigators developed a scale to measure tourist ecological orientation (TEO) which ultimately revealed two ecological orientation dimensions: destination oriented and visitor oriented (Uriely et. al. 2007). The destination oriented dimension consists of characteristics related to the management practices of the destination. The scale items within this dimension include: adherence to environmental rules and regulations, environmental sensitivity, the hotel/ site compatible with the natural landscape, the provision of education to preserving the environment, site management concerned with the quality of life of local residents, employment of local residents, provision of information on the quality of the surrounding environment, employment of the people with disabilities or the elderly, and recycling program.” (Uriely, Reichel & Shani, 2007). The visitor-oriented dimension consists of “site features or characteristics that are perceived as having a direct effect on the visitor and the on-site experience” (Uriely, Reichel & Shani, 2007, p. 172). In their application of the scale, the visitor-oriented factor scored higher, meaning visitors seemed to appreciate ecological features meeting their personal needs first and then later they might consider the destination-oriented features (Uriely, Reichel & Shani, 2007). In order for results from the Tourist Ecological Orientation Scale to influence management practices, a connection must be established between TEO scores and tourist behaviors. Research in tourism has provided empirical evidence of tourist satisfaction as a strong predictor of their intention to revisit, as well as recommend, the destination to others (Baker & Crompton, 2000; Yoon & Uysal, 2005; Chi & Qu, 2008). Additionally, the decision process of tourists has been found to be affected by personal characteristics, such as socio-demographic and economic restrictions and how much a tourist has to spend (Plog, 2001; Bieger & Laesser, 2004). As a result, tourism literature has explored both tourist satisfaction and the decision making process. However, how the ecological orientation of the tourist impact their decision making for considering accommodations or destinations based on sustainable practices has not been previously studied. In this study, the investigators use scores from the Tourist Ecological Orientation (TEO) Scale (Uriely, Reichel & Shani, 2007) of Costa Rica visitors to understand how their ecological orientation and interests in ecological practices influence their tourist behaviors. Methodology While participating in a study abroad program to Costa Rica, undergraduate students collected data from various tourist accommodations and destinations. These sites included accommodations participating in the CST program (CST ratings ranging from 1 to 3 leaves) and commonly visited tourist destinations (i.e. La Fortuna Waterfall, Arenal Volcano, Manual Antonio National Park). Data were collected from a convenience sample of 118 visitors to Costa Rica. People at the aforementioned destination sites as well as at the San Jose airport were approached, asked if they were visitors to Costa Rica and, if so, would they be willing to participate in a fifteen minute survey. Two surveys were unusable, resulting in 116 respondents. The survey consisted of five sections. In the first, respondents were asked how important each of the variables from the TEO scale (Uriely, Reichel & Shani, 2007) was in choosing a tourist site. The second section repeated the questions but asked how important the variables were in choosing accommodations. Responses to the TEO questions were then summed to provide an overall TEO scale for each respondent for both accommodations and destination sites. The fourth section asked about tourist behaviors when visiting a natural area and the fifth section asked about experience type preferences, such as experiences with nature or relation.