The effect of ecotourism knowledge on environmental awareness: A research on students studying tourism education

Ecotourism consists of travels with environmental awareness to areas that aim to protect the natural environment and cultural resources, have a minimum visitor effect, provide economic employment to the local community, and unspoilt naturalness. Understanding people's environmental awareness and ecotourism knowledge is a necessary information for tourism planners and ecotourism to transfer nature and culture to future generations and to be sustainable in order to plan and market efficiently. In this context, the aim of the research is to reveal the effect of ecotourism knowledge on environmental awareness. For this purpose, quantitative research method was used. The survey technique was used to obtain the data, and the data were collected through social media between April 10 and May 10, 2021. The universe of the research consists of two year degree, undergraduate, master and doctorate students studying in tourism related departments in Turkey. In the research, convenience sampling method was preferred and 400 people were reached. The sample of the study consists of students studying in tourism-related departments in Turkey, who is reached in numbers to represent the universe. Frequency analysis, reliability and factor analysis, correlation and regression analyzes were performed with the data obtained in accordance with the purposes of the research. As a result of the regression analyzes, it was found that the effect of ecotourism knowledge on environmental awareness was statistically significant. As a result of the regression analysis of the dimensions of the variables, the effect of the perspective on ecotourism and the contribution of ecotourism to socio-cultural development on human-centered and environment-centered judgments was also found statistically significant. In addition to this result, as a result of the correlation analysis performed to determine the relationship between ecotourism knowledge and environmental awareness, it was determined that there were positive linear low, mideum and high level relationships between the scale dimensions. According to the correlation analysis for the sum of both scales, it was found that there is a positive linear medium level relationship between ecotourism knowledge and environmental awareness.