Influence analysis of interpretation services on ecotourism behavior for wildlife tourists

Abstract

Interpretation services provide environmental education at ecotourism destinations. This may prompt tourists’ learning experiences (e.g., reflective engagement), which in turn may promote tourists’ pro-environmental behavior. However, the way that interpretation services and reflective engagement affect ecotourism behavior remains unclear. The present study aimed to develop a theoretical model to assess the ecotourism behavioral framework of wildlife tourists. Using a systematic sampling approach, a total of 1,277 useful responses were obtained and analyzed. Structural equation modeling was analyzed with LISREL 8.80 for Windows, and all parameters were estimated through the maximum likelihood method. The analytical findings illustrated that interpretation services had a positive and significant direct relationship with reflective engagement, which in turn was positively and significantly related to the ecotourism behavioral intentions (including pro-environmental behavior, environmentally friendly behavior, adherence to ecotourism guidelines, site‐specific ecological behavior, and learning behavior) of wildlife tourists. This study confirmed that reflective engagement fully mediated the relationship between interpretation services and ecotourism behavior, extending the stimulus-organism-response theoretical framework to the wildlife tourism context. The managerial implications suggest that wildlife ecotourism programs should improve the quality of their interpretation services to increase reflective engagement, thereby enhancing wildlife ecotourism behavior during wildlife tours and assisting in the sustainable development of wildlife ecotourism.