THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA, ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS, AND PLACE ATTACHMENT ON ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR OF TOURISTS AT SAINT MARTIN'S ISLAND, BANGLADESH

Abstract

The tourism industry is rapidly expanding and is considered crucial for economic prosperity. The rapid growth of tourism frequently has negative environmental impacts on the global climate. This environmental damage is caused by tourists' adverse behavior, such as natural disturbance, pollution, crowding. Tourists' actions have caused significant ecological issues to DMOs and policymakers. So it's crucial to master the fundamentals of tourists' ERB. Due to the rising use of digital platforms, social media is becoming vital for influencing tourists' attitudes. This study focused on investigating the elements that influence visitors' ERB and then constructing an ERB model using SEM by AMOS software.

An implicated model (S-O-R model) in this research shows tourists' usages of social media as a stimulus, environmental awareness (EA), place attachment (PA) formed by social media as an organism, and tourists' ERB as a response. Social media usages enhance EA and PA, affecting travelers to ERB. The integrated ERB model was empirically evaluated using 467 visitors' online survey data. However, the research indicated that social media profoundly influenced EA, PA, and tourists' ERB. This paper provides a solid theoretical foundation and offers ways for implementing sustainable tourism policies.

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