Evaluation of ecotourist ethics: A scale adaptation study

The success of ecotourism, which is a responsible form of travel, depends on the sensitive behaviour of the ecotourists. Although it is assumed that the ecotourists behave in accordance with ethical behaviours there is a need to test whether this is the case. In this aspect, this study aims to adapt the Ecotourist Ethics Scale (EES), developed by Nowaczek to measure the ethical behaviors and thoughts of ecotourists, into Turkish language and culture. The scale consists of 24 items with ethical dimensions of teleology, deontology and existentialism. The data were obtained from 422 people of different occupations. In the adaptation, the scale items were translated by the experts. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed to test the factor structure of the scale. The accuracy of the existing structure has been tested with two different models. CFA results reveal that Model 1 has produced better fit indicators than Model 2. The resulting fit indicators are generally good to excellent. Cronbach Alpha values were calculated for reliability and .80 result has proved that the scale is reliable. The reliability of the scale was also calculated with the Spearman Brown two-half test correlation and the scale was found to be reliable. The results reveal the high level of reliability and validity. So, it has been proven that the EES adapted to Turkish culture can be used in the context of Türkiye. Keywords: Ecotourist, ethics, scale adaptation