Conceptualization of Sustainable Tourism: A Curriculum Innovation Perspective

Previous studies on innovative courses have found that information on the elements of sustainable tourism is still lacking. To fill this research gap, this study examined the concept of sustainable tourism by focusing on two innovative courses titled “Seminar on Sustainable Tourism” and “Management and administration of Ecotourism”. Thirteen graduate students taking one of these courses were recruited as respondents for this study. The Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) was used to analyze photographs taken by the respondents and illustrate how graduate school students perceive sustainable tourism. The ZMET surveys were conducted in the 3rd week and 9th week and between the 17th and 18th weeks to represent the first and second semester, respectively. The results of the analysis illustrated that sustainable tourism involves constructs related to the natural environment and caring for wildlife, environmental conservation, sociocultural sustainability, natural and cultural experiences, perspectives on the environment, and government and policy. Four consensus maps were developed regarding environmental concerns, responsible behaviors, learning experiences, and reflections on sustainable tourism. Finally, the author concluded that when graduate students develop ecotourism itineraries, increase their environmental awareness, gain relevant learning experience, and exhibit reflective engagement, they experience positive feelings that benefit their environmental awareness, environmental attitude, sensory emotions, and reflective engagement, ultimately leading to pro-environmental or ecotourism behaviors that may subsequently boost sustainable tourism practices.