Environmental Concern and Knowledge of Ecotourism among Three Groups of Swedish Tourists

Abstract

The present study is aimed at investigating whether eco-tourists are more ecologically oriented than nature tourists and city tourists. In questionnaire surveys, in line with the hypotheses, the ecotourists expressed more general environmental beliefs than the nature tourists, who, in turn, had more pro-environmental beliefs than the city tourists. Similar results were found in the attitudes the three groups of tourists had toward the impacts of tourism on local people. The eco-tourists and the nature tourists also reported a more pro-environmental behavior than the city tourists. The ecotourists and nature tourists, did not, however, differ in this respect. In all three groups, knowledge about ecotourism was limited and mainly associated with ecologically sound tourism. The application of Stern and colleagues’ schematic causal model of environmental concern proved to be useful, and implications for the tourism industry can be derived.