Tourists’ knowledge,interest,experience and satisfaction with an eco-certified whale watching tour

Abstract

Tourists increasingly express interest in choosing experiences that minimise environmental harm, yet it remains unclear if they actively choose eco-certified tours or how their environmental interest and/or knowledge shape their evaluations. This study investigates how tourists’ knowledge and interest in whale watching, whale protection and environmentally responsible practices influence their recognition of and satisfaction with an eco-certified whale watching tour. Using 499 survey responses collected in British Columbia in 2024 and analysed with a logit model, the findings show that only half of tourists knew their tour was eco-certified, and that knowledge and interest function as distinct constructs. Interest strongly influences tourists’ evaluation of environmentally responsible experiences, whereas knowledge, not interest, significantly predicts recognition of eco-certification. Satisfaction is driven primarily by the core wildlife outcome of seeing whales rather than tourists’ prior knowledge, interest or experience with these practices. Although limited to one destination, these results suggest that eco-certification is a weak cognitive signal and that operators and destination marketers should prioritise strategies that foster tourist interest and engagement rather than relying solely on factual sustainability information.