How does interpretive tour guiding promote tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour? Evidence from Tanzania

Abstract

Tour guides play a central role in the implementation of sustainable tourism practices through maximizing tourists’ appreciation and enjoyment of the destination and minimizing their negative impacts. Utilizing Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, this study aims to examine how tour guide performance directly and indirectly predicts tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling were used to test a pro-environmental behaviour model using a sample of 396 tourists who visited Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Tarangire national parks and Ngorongoro conservation area in northern Tanzania. The results indicated that tour guides positively and significantly influenced tourists’ experience, satisfaction and pro-environmental behaviours. Further, tourists’ experience is found to positively mediate the relation between tour guide and pro-environmental behaviour. The study presents managerial implications, limitations and future research directions in light of the results.