EFFECT OF ECOTOURISM ON CONSUMER BUYING

BEHAVIOUR

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the

Award of Degree of

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Ankita Patel (15633)

Vibhasika Shree (15996)

Supervisor

Ankur Joshi (FPM)

Assistant Professor, FMS -WISDOM
Banasthali Vidyapith

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Women’s Institute for Studies in Development Oriented Management

BANASTHALI VIDYAPITH

(RAJASTHAN, BHARAT)

(Category ‘A’ by MHRD, Among Top 50 universities of India by NIRF MHRD 2016 and
2017and All India ‘Rank 17’ -Nielsen 2017)

2018
ABSTRACT
Ecotourism which is ecologically sustainable in India is gaining popularity among travelers and
tourists who wish to do their bit in order to protect and preserve our environment, local
community and their culture by affecting the consumer buying behavior. In this research we are
going to identify the key factors of ecotourism that affects consumer buying behavior and here
the consumers are Banasthali vidhyapeeth students, currently consumers are becoming aware of
the importance of environment protection and try to gain knowledge about the environment
friendliness of the green products and that don’t harm the local community at all. Here we focus
on ecotourism effects on the behavior of Banasthali students towards their purchasing behavior
are they really concern for the green products, and how many population in Banasthali use
environmental criteria regularly in their purchasing decisions, which kind of ecotourism
activities they are involved in and their concern for the local community and how their
purchasing behavior effects the local community.

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ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my Professor/mentor ANKUR JOSHI, who
has the attitude and the substance of a genius; he continually and convincingly conveyed a spirit
of adventure in regard to Dissertation, and an excitement in regard to teaching. Without his
guidance and persistent help this dissertation would not have been possible.

I am grateful to all of those with whom who had given their precious time to fill the
questionnaires The students of Wisdom (BANASTHALI VIDYAPEETH) has provided me
extensive personal and professional guidance and taught me a great deal about both research and
life in general. As my teacher and mentor, he has taught me more than I could ever give him
credit for here. He has shown me, by his example, what a good person should be.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract 1
Acknowledgements 2
Table of Contents 3
1 Introduction 4
2 Review of Literature 5-7
3 Research Methodology 8
3.1 scope of study 8
3.2 Objective of study 8
3.3 Area of Research 8
3.4 Mode of Data Collection 8
3.5 Primary Data 8
3.6 Secondary Data 9
3.7 Sample Design 9
3.8 Sample Type 9
3.9 Sample size 9
4 Findings and Discussions 10-16
5 Conclusion 17-18
5.1 Summary 17
5.2 Evaluation 17
5.3 Future work 18
References 19

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 1. INTRODUCTION
India, with a wealth of cultural Heritage of great antique and as a mega – Biodiversity Country in
a World, here our Dissertation is all about Eco Tourism because India has immense potential for
Ecotourism. Our concern population is Banasthali Vidyapeeth students and we focused the
buying behavior of this population while involved in Ecotourism activities. This Dissertation is
focusing on protecting the environment by buying the products that are friendly to the nature by
Banasthali Students, To identify consumer’s attitude towards the green products. To find out the
scope for Sustainable Development of Ecotourism, To increase awareness and positive
perception among students to Promote the ecosystem and change their consumer buying
behavior, To know about the activities in which ecotourism consumers are involved. In this
research study , the sample have been drawn from 150 responds in Banasthali
vidyapeeth.Through our research we got to know that Banasthali Students are engage in different
activities related to Ecotourism. Most of the students are aware about the concept of ecotourism
and its effects. After knowing about the concept of ecotourism their attitude and perception
towards community upliftment, sustainable environment and their responsibility towards society
has changed.

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 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Ecotourism is the combination of two words, Ecosystem and tourism. Ecosystem is the system in
which we live and includes sun, water, earth and all living and non-living thing. Tourism means,
travelling for inner happiness. Thus, Ecosystem is a tourism which involves visiting an
Ecosystem.

Ecotourism is a sustainable tourism which emphasis on conservation of the nature, education,

environment, spreading awareness to emphasis traveler responsibilities to keep up nature.

2.1 Consumers of the environment purchase goods and services that think they have a positive
(or less negative) effect on the environment. Green purchase behavior includes trying to save
energy consumption and avoiding purchasing of goods with unsuitable packaging (Robert
James, 1996, p. 217).

2.2 Although green consumers have been under study for about two decades but still there is no
acceptable definition globally. Anyway, the studies related to green consumers have been
conducted with various names like attentive consumers with regard to environmental issues;
consumers who support the environment and consumers who are aware of the society
(Chaiyawat, 1998, p. 29). International Journal of Academic Research in Business and
Social Sciences, November 2013, Vol. 3, No. 11, ISSN: 2222-6990.

2.3 The demand of the consumer had shifted away from mass tourism to Ecotourism, The
behavior of ecotourism is fully explored, and it will continue to be difficult to clarify the concept
of ecotourism. This trend was stimulated by the increased global awareness of environmental
issues which encourage a growth of visitation to natural areas.(Diamantis, Dimitrios (1998),
Consumer Behavior and Ecotourism Products ,Annuals of tourism research Vol.25)

2.4 The supply of and demand for ecotourism have grown significantly. At the same time,
ecotourism has, as a particular form of tourism development, become increasingly recognized
and legitimized as a means of achieving sustainable development in destination areas, the
successful development of ecotourism is dependent upon responsible, environmentally
appropriate behavior on the part of tourism throughout the entire Ecotourism experience.
(Sharpley, Richard (2006), Ecotourism: A Consumption Perspective,in Journal of
Ecotourism).

2.5 Consumer behaviour in Ecotourism is a subject worthy of academic study in its own right.
However, it is also a matter of growing interest to Ecotourism practitioners as organizations seek
to keep ahead of changes in consumer tastes so that they can ensure they offer what the customer
wants. Modern Ecotourism marketing must be customer centered if it is to be successful.
JohnSwarbrooke (1999) and Susan Horner(2007).

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2.6 Tourists leave money, which gives us income, and with that we are able to achieve
conservation. Though many policies and programmes are riding on the hope that ecotourism will
create the right market incentives for local residents of ecotourism destinations to protect natural
resources, ecotourism is likely to prompt sentiments and behaviours not easily measured in
economic analyses alone, including willingness to be involved in ecotourism work and
management, despite relatively minimal economic returns. may be more elucidating and
predictive of changes in local livelihoods and resource use if they include holistic attention to the
meanings behind the numbers. (Amanda, Stronza (2007) The Economic Promise of
Ecotourism for Conservation, Journal of Ecotourism, 6:3, 210-230)

2.7 Ecotourism has the potential to enhance visitor understanding of social and natural systems
and to augment tourists’ support of social, environmental and economic sustainability, industry
wide assumptions about these effects remain largely untested, and linkages between tourism’s
operational characteristics and positive changes in tourists’ environmental knowledge, attitudes
and behaviours remain largely unexplored.(Robert B. Powell & S. H. Ham (2008) Can
Ecotourism Interpretation Really Lead to Pro-Conservation Knowledge, Attitudes and
Behaviour?. Evidence, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16:4, 467-489)

2.8 Ecotourism has been most consistently defined as a form of nature-based tourism, where the
focus of the tourism experience is the natural environment and, sometimes, the cultural
environment. Environmental learning and appreciation are expected outcomes of interaction
between the tourist and the environment, and the goals include environmental, socio-cultural,
and economic sustainability. (Helen Perkins & Debra Ann Grace (2009) Ecotourism: supply
of nature or tourist demand, Journal of Ecotourism, 8:3, 223-236)

2.9 Consumer behaviour is a very important aspect to analyze in every marketing activity,
especially in the Ecotourism sector. Consumer behaviour is influenced by many factors which
can be grouped in categories such as personal factors, social factors, situational factors and
economic factors. By understanding these factors, one can identify an individual’s needs.
Fratu,Delia (2011), Factors of influence and changes in the tourism consumer
behaviour,Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov • Vol. 4 (53) •No. 1 – 2011

2.10 The word Ecotourism came into existence at a place known as Belize in Central America,
which is famous for its natural beautiful places, its evolution took place Western society to
experience wild nature. It started in 1872 in the US with Yellow Stone Park, in 1879 in Australia
with Royal Park and in 1885 in Canada with Banff Park and Niagara Falls to set aside the areas
for the protection in the form of National Parks.( Anandaraj, Mercy.(2015), Eco- Tourism:
Origin And Development, International Journal Of Management And Humanities ,
ISSN:2349-7289.)

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2.11 The purpose of sustainable tourism is to make a balance between protecting the
environment, maintaining cultural integrity, establishing social justice and promoting economic
benefits, meeting the needs of the host population in terms of improved living standards both in
the short and long term. The tourism industry has the potential to contribute to sustainable
development, particularly by job creating, including employment for women and marginalised
groups. Sustainable tourism has emerged with the aim of reducing the negative effects of tourism
activities, which has become almost universally accepted as a desirable and politically
appropriate approach to tourism development. (Sarfaraz Hashemkhani, Zolfani Maedeh
Sedaghat, Reza Maknoon & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas (2015) Sustainable tourism:
a comprehensive literature review on frameworks and applications, Economic Research-
EkonomskaI straživanja, 28:1, 1-30)

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3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Scope of Study
The present study is on the EFFECTS OF ECOTOURISM ON CONSUMER BUYING
BEHAVIOUR on taking the perception of Banasthali Consumers i.e. students. Also the focus of
study is for analyzing the relationship between ecotourism and buying behavior of consumers.
The information was gained mainly through consulting Primary sources (Questionnaire through
Google Forms) secondary sources (an official website, local newspaper, other official documents
and records, etc.)

3.2 Objective of Study

Below research objectives have been framed are as followed:
1. To protect the environment by buying the products that are friendly to the nature.
2. To identify consumer’s attitude towards the green products.
3. To find out the scope for Sustainable Development of Ecotourism.
4. To increase awareness and positive perception among students to
5. Promote the ecosystem and change their consumer buying behavior.
6. . To know about the activities in which ecotourism consumers are involved.

Methodology
Methodology of research adopted for the present study
is explained under following heads:

3.3 Area of Research

The area of research is BanasthaliVidyapeeth.

3.4 Mode of Data Collection

Both primary and secondary data are required for the study.
Primary data are mainly related to find out what steps are taken by
Us in Banasthali Vidyapeeth for sustainable development of tourism industry and also to know
how much those ecotourism affects the individual tourist.

3.5 Primary data

1) Questionnaire- We made the questionnaire both qualitative and quantitative with the help of
Google forms.
The questionnaire has two sections.
Section A- includes quantitative data and
Section B- includes descriptive based qualitative data.
2)Interviews: This is the key mode of data collection by the domestic visitors and local
community representative, and interview parameter is prepared covering a detailed list of
Questions.

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3.6 Secondary Data
The main sources of data are-
i. Exploring the unexplored places through different websites.
ii. Promotional material and information provided by the tourismDepartment of the respective
area.
iii.Secondary data were collected from websites and then a well structured questionnaire was
prepared.

3.7 Sample Design

For conducting this research, researcher would draw a proper
sample design. In this research as the research is conducting in banasthalividyapeeth, here the
respondent will be from different different locations and states of India all the and everyone has
different type of buying behaviour and the tools used in making this report is MS WORD , MS
EXCEL and SPSS.

3.8 Sample Type

In this research open ended and close ended questionnaire sampling method will be
selected to get response for all possible respondents in Banasthalividyapeeth.

3.9 Sample size

In this research study , the sample have been drawn from 150 responds in Banasthalividyapeeth.

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 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

Our questionnaire contains two parts –

Quantitative data and qualitative data, the analysis is done through the help of spss and identified
the rotated component matrix which helps you to determine what the components represent.

According to this table we have a different focus area that lies under different different
components, here we have three components named as-

1. Community Upliftment

2. Sustainable environment

3. Social Responsibility

As per the analysis of the table mention below the first component that is community upliftment
includes variables let’s says our focus area of dissertation are community benefit and concern for
green products and the second component that is sustainable environment includes compatibility,
concern for environment, hand craft products and recyclable materials and the third component
that is social responsibility includes ecotourism awareness , so on the basis of this it is identified
that our whole dissertation is revolves around these three component not other then that.

Rotated Component Matrix

FOCUS AREA COMPONENT

1 2 3
ECOTOURISM .230 .902
COMPATIBILITY .245 .616 .540
COMMUNITY BENEFIT .876
CONCERN FOR
.733
ENVIRONMENT
CONCERN FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY .269 .850
PRODUCTS.
HAND CRAFT PRODUCTS .395 .842
CONCERN FOR GREEN
.882 .207
PRODUCTS
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS. .519 .608 .372

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The another test is KMO and Bartlett's Test This table that is mention below shows two tests
that indicate the suitability of your data for structure detection. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure
of Sampling Adequacy is a statistic that indicates the proportion of variance in variables that
might be caused by underlying factors.

High values (close to 1.0) generally indicate that a factor analysis may be useful with your data.
If the value is less than 0.50, the results of the factor analysis probably won't be very useful.

Bartlett's test of sphericity tests the hypothesis that your correlation matrix is an identity
matrix, which would indicate that your variables are unrelated and therefore unsuitable for
structure detection.

Small values (less than 0.05) of the significance level indicate that a factor analysis may be
useful with your data.

KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .634

Approx. Chi-Square 646.896

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity

df 28
Sig. .000

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The third table that is mentioned below shows that total variance explained table where as it
shows that In multivariate analysis, one goal is to explain why observations, in this case people,
have different answers on survey. Factor analysis groups survey questions that vary together.
This makes it easier to model in a regression because it reduces a large number of variables (i.e.,
survey items) into a smaller set of factors. Each factor explains a percent of the total variance.
Factors that do not explain much variance might not be worth including in the final model. It
takes some iteration to come up with the optimal number of factor

Component Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared

Loadings Loadings
Total % of Cumulative Total % of Cumulative Total % of Cumulative
Variance % Variance % Variance %
1 3.513 43.917 43.917 3.513 43.917 43.917 2.133 26.657 26.657
2 1.456 18.198 62.116 1.456 18.198 62.116 2.101 26.263 52.920
3 1.242 15.530 77.646 1.242 15.530 77.646 1.978 24.726 77.646
4 .821 10.257 87.903
5 .355 4.441 92.344
6 .313 3.913 96.257
7 .167 2.088 98.345
8 .132 1.655 100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

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On the basis of responses by the 150 respondents in Banasthali Vidhyapeeth respondents are
asked about various questions regarding what they feel and their perception about the effect of
ecotourism on their buying behavior. The questionnaire is prepared with the help of Google
forms so that shows some pie-charts about the questions that have been asked.

Q1- Do you believe you understand the concept of ecotourism?

On the basis of responses by 150 respondents mostly students are aware about the term
ecotourism , In this pie chart 55.6% students are strongly agree and 33.3% are agree and rest
have no idea about this.

Q2- Do you believe natural resources protection and ecotourism can be compatible?

On the basis of responses by 150 respondents 51.9% students are those who think that or believe
that natural resources protection and ecotourism can be compatible, here rest student have no
idea about it.

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Q3- Do you believe the community would benefit from developing a ecotourism framework?

On the basis of responses by 150 respondents 66.7% students are agree, 22.2% students are
strongly agree with the fact that community would benefit from developing a ecotourism
framework.

Q4- when I buy travel products, I try to consider how my use of them will effect the
environment and local community.

On the basis of responses by 150 respondents 37% people are strongly agree, 33.3% are agree
and the rest are neutral and disagree of the thing that while buying a travel products considers
the effect of that products on community and culture.

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Q5- I Protect the environment by buying the products that are friendly to the environment.

On the basis of responses by 150 respondents 44.4% students are strongly agree , 25.9% students
are agree and the rest are neutral and disagree with the concept that they protect the environment
by buying the products that are friendly to the environment.

Q6- I purchase locally made crafts and products.

On the basis of responses by 150 respondents 11.1% students are strongly agree and 40.7%
students are agree that they purchase the locally made crafts and products that empower the local
community.

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Q7- I purchase products made from recyclable materials.

On the basis of responses by 150 respondents they were asked question like do you purchase
products made from recyclable materials then 44.4% students are neutral , 37% students are
agree and 14.8% students are disagree.

Respondents were also asked for some type of qualitative questions like what kind of ecotourism
activities they are involved in and do they explore the undiscovered places.

In this chart it is clearly shows that our respondents 36% students are mostly engage in
ecotourism for the involvement with local community and their culture,32% are in volunteering
holidays and camps ,18% are wildlife viewing and the rest 14% are engage in nature and animal
conservation type of activity.

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5. CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary
Our research is based on ecotourism affecting the buying behavior of consumers. We have done
the data analysis with both Qualitative as well as Quantities data by using SPSS and Excel.

In our research we have shown three tests with the help of SPSS and some qualitative
questions were also asked to know about their interest in undiscovered places.

Through our research we got to know that Banasthali Students are engage in different activities
related to Ecotourism. Most of the students are aware about the concept of ecotourism and its
effects and some are not aware about the ecotourism concept and some have no idea or in doubt.
After knowing about the concept of ecotourism their attitude and perception towards community
upliftment, sustainable environment and their responsibility towards society has changed.

5.2Evaluation
In this Dissertation our objective is that to know the banasthali university students attitudes and
what are those factors that changes their attitude towards protecting the environment by buying
the products that are friendly to the nature, to find out the scope for Sustainable Development of
Ecotourism, To increase awareness and positive perception among students of Banasthali
university, Promote the ecosystem and change their consumer buying behavior and To know
about the activities in which ecotourism consumers are involved so by the evaluation of whole
dissertation it is found that we are absolutely achieving the objectives of this research , here it is
found that 88.9% students are already aware about the term Ecotourism , 36% students are
mostly engage in ecotourism for the involvement with local community and their culture,32%
are in volunteering holidays and camps ,18% are wildlife viewing and the rest 14% are engage in
nature and animal conservation type of activity, mostly people purchase the products made by
recyclable products, so the awareness of ecotourism in banasthali university students and their
purchasing behavior is quiet tremendous for the environment and sustainable development.

5.3Future work
Ecotourism is a form of sustainable travel that supports the local environment instead of putting
more pressure on it and exploiting its resources, Ecotourism is a complex concept which gain
popularity more and more each year, but in this dissertation the main limitation that arises in the
path of executing this research is that many students are not aware about the term ecotourism and
many of them do not purchase any kind of green products and other are not engage in any kind
of ecotourism activity that benefited the local community and environment. According to the

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research some students that are our respondent’s states that the reason of not evolving in any
kind of ecotourism activity are that these activities are quiet costly and the handmade or locally
crafted products are very costly so the price sensitive customers or students are not engage in this
kind of activity.

Thus, removing this limitation it is important for Banasthali students to become less price
sensitive and become more sensitive towards quality, culture and sustainable environment.

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 REFERENCES
I. Chaiyawat, 1998, p. 29. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and
Social Sciences, November 2013, Vol. 3, No. 11, ISSN: 2222-6990.
II. Helen Perkins & Debra Ann Grace (2009) Ecotourism: supply of nature or tourist
demand? Journal of Ecotourism, 8:3, 223-236
III. Diamantis, Dimitrios (1998), Consumer Behavior and Ecotourism Products ,Annuals of
tourism research Vol.25
IV. Sharpley, Richard (2006), Ecotourism: A Consumption Perspective, in Journal of
Ecotourism.
V. Amanda, Stronza (2007) The Economic Promise of Ecotourism for Conservation, Journal
of Ecotourism, 6:3, 210-230
VI. .(Robert B. Powell & S. H. Ham (2008) Can Ecotourism Interpretation Really Lead to
Pro-Conservation Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour?. Evidence, Journal of
Sustainable Tourism, 16:4, 467-489)
VII. Fratu, Delia (2011), Factors of influence and changes in the tourism consumer behaviour,
Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov • Vol. 4 (53) •No. 1 – 2011
VIII. Reza Maknoon & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas (2015) Sustainable tourism: a
comprehensive literature review on frameworks and applications, Economic Research-
Ekonoms kaIstraživanja, 28:1, 1-30)

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