The Impression of Environmental Education in School Affect Tourists' Tourism Behavior

Abstract

The seasonal migration of the endangered species, Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), to a Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Taiwan every winter attract a large number of domestic and international tourists, as well as regular visitors from the local areas. This study evaluated the impact of environmental education in school on tourists' behaviors during their trip to the Wildlife Refuge. Data were collected by means of questionnaires. This questionnaire was developed based on the information of the tourists' socio-demographic characteristics, tourism destinations, self-definition approach, and intended behavior by using a 5-point scale. Based on 547 respondents took part in the survey, the majority was between 21 and 40 years old and approximately 45% of the respondents possessed a Bachelor's degree. Respondents were categorized as tourists who had studied an environment-related course in school and those who did not. Results revealed that whether have learned environment-related course in school, showed no significant difference in self-definition approach. However, there was significant difference in a tourist's intended behavior between two groups. One possibility is that an impression of environment-related course in school has a significant impact on the tourists' knowledge and decisions of how they should interact with the environment. In addition, why we need to design and introduce a general education course to university students to raise their awareness of ecological conservation is discussed.