Explorations in predictors of attitudes toward ecotourism

This thesis explored predictors of attitudes related to ecotourism. The goal of this research was to explore the extent to which global-mindedness and eco-consciousness show a relationship and or lead to ecotourism. Education level and income were also examined as predictors of attitudes toward ecotourism. The research was conducted via an online 16 question survey, completed by 203 participants. The survey was derived from prior thesis and dissertation works. The questions dealt with global-mindedness, eco-consciousness, travel motivations, levels of education, and income, based on a path analysis framework. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a Bonferroni adjusted multiple comparisons test were used to test the three hypotheses. The results showed a relationship between the dependent variables of eco-consciousness and globalmindedness. Results also indicated a relationship between the independent variables of income and education level with global-mindedness and eco-consciousness. The variables of global-mindedness and eco-consciousness did not show a relationship with the dependent variable of travel motivations. More research is required to assess consumer travel motivations, in addition to any implications that exist as they relate to interior design and ecotourism resorts.