The Significance of Digital Marketing in Shaping Ecotourism Behaviour through Destination Image

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This work explores a model between social media, destination image, ecotourism, and related behaviors. This work is mainly methodological, examining the relationships among these concepts and whether developing a model is sound. In general, the work is interesting and does explore a novel concept. However, there are areas that the authors should attend to for improvement of presentation and contribution.

Most notably, the concepts that this paper relies on need to be developed more, with attention to defining each and the relationships between them. The review section would also benefit for some more specifics, such as detailing other studies as the one from Iran is detailed.

• The definition of ecotourism is limited, and from a 1991 source. Refer to the many works of Weaver and Honey, but ecotourism generally has three components: nature-based, sustainable, and encompassing a learning component. You center on the cultural component, which some identify as a fourth, but neglect the established three. This contradicts how the term was operationalized for the model, with conservation, community, and education. These all should be detailed and the connections clearly stated between the term, definition, and use in the study.
• Both "digital marketing strategies" and "destination image", which are central to this work, are not defined. These should be given concrete definitions with examples early in the work, to provide context.
• TPB is used without explanation or adequate review of how it has been used in tourism, ecotourism, other Pakistani or similar destination areas, etc. To be the fundamental theory for this work, the authors should provide corresponding detail.
• When describing the approach, it is unclear that the hypothesized connections are positive relationships between a tourist's behavior and engagement in ecotourism. For example, blogging is left undetermined what the measure actually is until later in the paper. In the approach, it reads as if it is looking at the amount of blogging or availability of blogs online. Clarify that the relationships are related to the tourist.

384 of 800 surveys isn't above a 50% response rate - please clarify.

My other large concern is that the discussion omits the utility of this work beyond developing a model. The paper would benefit for a thoughtful section by the authors about how others could find use of this model and if/how the context may have influenced its development. While I understand that the purpose of this work is mainly methodological / theoretical, the application of the model or where the authors would like to see the work taken next in applied contexts should be included.

Author Response

Reviewer 1:

Most notably, the concepts that this paper relies on the need to be developed more, with attention to defining each and the relationships between them. The review section would also benefit from some more specifics, such as detailing other studies like the one from Iran is detailed.

 

Answer:

In addition, Varkaris & Neuhofer (17), used social media to improve ecotourism in their model because social media plays a significant role in influencing modern tourists' decision-making processes and developing ecotourism behaviour. However, the model did not use any intervening variable and strategy to promote ecotourism.

 

The definition of ecotourism is limited and from a 1991 source. Referring to the many works of Weaver and Honey, ecotourism generally has three components: nature-based, sustainable, and encompassing a learning component. You centre on the cultural component, which some identify as a fourth, but neglect the established three. This contradicts how the term was operationalized for the model, with conservation, community, and education. These all should be detailed and the connections clearly stated between the term, definition, and use in the study.

Both "digital marketing strategies" and "destination image", which are central to this work, are not defined. These should be given concrete definitions with examples early in the work, to provide context.

 

Answer:

According to (7) ecotourism is defined as "tourism with obligations to natural areas, environmental protection, resident economic development, and the integration of interpretation and education to widen personal experience and knowledge" by the International Ecotourism Society.

 

Accounting for all the elements considered for ecotourism to be effective is no easy feat. Most ecotourism research has focused primarily on traditional marketing techniques. For instance, “the impact of using online marketing tactics on the Iranian eco-tourism business” is being investigated (8). It is also crucial to cultivate ecotourism through digital marketing strategies and boost awareness through destination image development. According to (9) digital marketing is a strategic process of promoting goods and services to a targeted market on the internet by encompassing the critical marketing concepts through digital resources, which may include tools such as blogging, search engines, social media, and mobile applications. The activities in tourist locations are primarily influenced by how tourists perceive the destination. The destination image is defined as (10) destination image is defined as the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a tourist holds about a destination

 

TPB is used without explanation or adequate review of how it has been used in tourism, ecotourism, other Pakistani or similar destination areas, etc. To be the fundamental theory for this work, the authors should provide corresponding detail.

When describing the approach, it is unclear that the hypothesized connections are positive relationships between a tourist's behaviour and engagement in ecotourism. For example, blogging is left undetermined what the measure actually is until later in the paper. In the approach, it reads as if it is looking at the amount of blogging or availability of blogs online. Clarify that the relationships are related to the tourist.

 

Answer:

 

The current study investigated the novel relationship between digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour, as well as the theories that underpin it, including the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). To better understand the complexities of human behaviour, the TPB has been utilized to analyze and anticipate human behaviour. The TPB expands on the TRA (theory of reasoned action) (15). In this study, the TPB predicts and explains visitors' ecotourism behaviour by considering environmental attitude, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, and ecotourism behavioural intention. Attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control are among the digital marketing strategies used in this study. The linkage between ecotourism behaviour and destination image is missing from digital marketing strategies in the literature

 

384 of 800 surveys isn't above a 50% response rate - please clarify.

 

Answer:

To get the possible sample size of 384 from three regions, the current study distributed 800 questionnaires with a response rate of more than 50%. Data was obtained using Google form from tourists who visited hotels, important visiting locations in the area, and adventurer tourists camping in the camps. Due to the COVID-19 situation and difficult to access tourists in the targeted areas.

 

My other large concern is that the discussion omits the utility of this work beyond developing a model. The paper would benefit from a thoughtful section by the authors about how others could find the use of this model and if/how the context may have influenced its development. While I understand that the purpose of this work is mainly methodological/theoretical, the application of the model or where the authors would like to see the work taken next in applied contexts should be included.

 

Answer:

Conclusion

This research provides theoretical implications for understanding digital marketing and ecotourism behaviour. The researchers are primarily interested in re-searching the indicators of tourism destination growth with digital marketing to tourists at the tourism destinations (66). Previous studies have neglected the digital marketing strategies for conserving the natural environment, community development, and educational opportunities connected to natural places with the destination image. Few academics have concentrated their efforts on conserving natural areas using digital marketing strategies (67). The current study used the concept of the theory of planned behaviour and empirically tested the relationship between digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour based on the conservation of natural areas, community development, and environmental education.

The current study employed a digital marketing approach to improve ecotourism behaviour among visitors to tourist locations (65). Several organisations have adopted digital marketing strategies (blogs, mobile applications, search engine optimisation, and social media) (68). However, Previous studies mostly ignored digital marketing strategies in the context of ecotourism behaviour. As a result, the current study added to the planned behaviour (TPB) adoption theory by broadening the scope of digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour relevant to the tourist sector.

 

Practical implications

Furthermore, northern areas of Pakistan are economically underdeveloped and have a limited number of resources. As tourism grows, the community becomes more active in extracting natural resources, resulting in deforestation in most natural regions. Digital marketing strategies can create awareness and education to protect the natural areas. The use of digital media in environmental education conveys the message of responsible behaviour, which leads to the long-term growth of visitors visiting the northern areas and the local population. Social media and blogging are extensively utilised to spread information on ecotourism, offering a fantastic opportunity for locals to use these platforms to promote the local natural environment, destination image, and cultural values to tourists. That also benefits the local community economically and sends a message to tourists about responsible behaviour.

 

Study limitations

The current research's aims were met; however, it would not have been feasible without some limits on the scope of the investigation. First, to circumvent time and monetary limitations, the current study employed a small sample size. Most significantly, COVID-19 creates a highly unpredictable environment in which to conduct research. It was challenging to gather data and replies for the current study due to mobility control directives. The researcher utilized a random sample of 384 visitors who used digital marketing strategies and visited any of Pakistan's three regions. That uncovers a sample size and sampling process restriction. That reveals a sample size and sampling process restriction. This restriction may have an impact on the results' generalizability. The current study results may differ from those obtained with bigger sample size and alternative sampling techniques.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

1. On page 3, lines 150 to 121, I would really appreciate it if you name some of the publications you cited that support the opinion. The question (in the case of modeling the beliefs) is would such latent variables reflect something meaningful?
2. I exactly struggled with the question of whether the single beliefs are specific influences on the respective TPB core variable (e.g., environmental attitude) or if they are merely reflections of a more global belief factor? 
3. The environmental attitude should be influenced by many different thoughts and convictions about the behavior in question. 
   In this case, modeling a latent overall belief factor would represent nothing meaningful and hence, its effects on the core variables would be nonsense.

Author Response

Reviewer 2:

 

On page 3, lines 150 to 121, I would really appreciate it if you name some of the publications you cited that support the opinion. The question (in the case of modelling the beliefs) is would such latent variables reflect something meaningful?

 

Accounting for all the elements considered for ecotourism to be effective is no easy feat. Most ecotourism research has focused primarily on traditional marketing techniques. For instance, “the impact of using online marketing tactics on the Iranian eco-tourism business” is being investigated (8). It is also crucial to cultivate ecotourism through digital marketing strategies and boost awareness through destination image development. According to (9) digital marketing is a strategic process of promoting goods and services to a targeted market on the internet by encompassing the critical marketing concepts through digital resources, which may include tools such as blogging, search engines, social media, and mobile applications. The activities in tourist locations are primarily influenced by how tourists perceive the destination. The destination image is defined as (10) destination image is defined as the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a tourist holds about a destination

 

I exactly struggled with the question of whether the single beliefs are specific influences on the respective TPB core variable (e.g., environmental attitude) or if they are merely reflections of a more global belief factor?

 

The preceding work has not holistically explored the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in digital marketing strategies, destination image, and ecotourism behaviour. On the other hand, TPB is employed in this study to determine if environmental attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control influence ecotourism activity in natural regions. Furthermore, in the current study, the purpose is employed as the destination pictures, and the actual action is replaced with ecotourism behaviour.

Reviewer 3 Report

The introduction is clear, comprehensive enough, the hypotheses very well formulated and argued.

I recommend the extension of the Conclusions section, with the highlighting of the authors' own contribution, through the obtained results, to the contribution brought to the literature in this field.

Author Response

I recommend the extension of the Conclusions section, with the highlighting of the authors' own contribution, through the obtained results, to the contribution brought to the literature in this field.

 

Answer:

Conclusion

This research provides theoretical implications for understanding digital marketing and ecotourism behaviour. The researchers are primarily interested in re-searching the indicators of tourism destination growth with digital marketing to tourists at the tourism destinations (66). Previous studies have neglected the digital marketing strategies for conserving the natural environment, community development, and educational opportunities connected to natural places with the destination image. Few academics have concentrated their efforts on conserving natural areas using digital marketing strategies (67). The current study used the concept of the theory of planned behaviour and empirically tested the relationship between digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour based on the conservation of natural areas, community development, and environmental education.

The current study employed a digital marketing approach to improve ecotourism behaviour among visitors to tourist locations (65). Several organisations have adopted digital marketing strategies (blogs, mobile applications, search engine optimisation, and social media) (68). However, Previous studies mostly ignored digital marketing strategies in the context of ecotourism behaviour. As a result, the current study added to the planned behaviour (TPB) adoption theory by broadening the scope of digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour relevant to the tourist sector.

 

Practical implications

Furthermore, northern areas of Pakistan are economically underdeveloped and have a limited number of resources. As tourism grows, the community becomes more active in extracting natural resources, resulting in deforestation in most natural regions. Digital marketing strategies can create awareness and education to protect the natural areas. The use of digital media in environmental education conveys the message of responsible behaviour, which leads to the long-term growth of visitors visiting the northern areas and the local population. Social media and blogging are extensively utilised to spread information on ecotourism, offering a fantastic opportunity for locals to use these platforms to promote the local natural environment, destination image, and cultural values to tourists. That also benefits the local community economically and sends a message to tourists about responsible behaviour.

 

Study limitations

The current research's aims were met; however, it would not have been feasible without some limits on the scope of the investigation. First, to circumvent time and monetary limitations, the current study employed a small sample size. Most significantly, COVID-19 creates a highly unpredictable environment in which to conduct research. It was challenging to gather data and replies for the current study due to mobility control directives. The researcher utilized a random sample of 384 visitors who used digital marketing strategies and visited any of Pakistan's three regions. That uncovers a sample size and sampling process restriction. That reveals a sample size and sampling process restriction. This restriction may have an impact on the results' generalizability. The current study results may differ from those obtained with bigger sample size and alternative sampling techniques.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Thank you for the opportunity to review the paper “The significance of digital marketing in shaping ecotourism behaviour through destination image”.

Please see below my comments on this paper.

The conceptual framework proposed in this paper does not include TPB’s dimensions (i.e. attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control). Therefore, I recommend the authors to remove the theoretical background related to TPB and discuss instead the dimensions included in the model (i.e. blogging, social media, ecotourism behavior etc.)

Theoretical background and hypotheses development are insufficiently documented. Please add more references for each relationship.  

Common Method Bias: Please explain the significance of 40.653%. Is this percent high/low? Is it a satisfactory result?

Please include the following three sections: Theoretical implications, Managerial implications, Limitations and future research.

Author Response

The conceptual framework proposed in this paper does not include TPB’s dimensions (i.e. attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control). Therefore, I recommend the authors remove the theoretical background related to TPB and discuss instead the dimensions included in the model (i.e. blogging, social media, ecotourism behaviour etc.)

Answer

The current study investigated the novel relationship between digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour, as well as the theories that underpin it, including the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). To better understand the complexities of human behaviour, the TPB has been utilized to analyze and anticipate human behaviour. The TPB expands on the TRA (theory of reasoned action) (15). In this study, the TPB predicts and explains visitors' ecotourism behaviour by considering environmental attitude, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, and ecotourism behavioural intention. Attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control are among the digital marketing strategies used in this study. The linkage between ecotourism behaviour and destination image is missing from digital marketing strategies in the literature.

The preceding work has not holistically explored the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in digital marketing strategies, destination image, and ecotourism behaviour. On the other hand, TPB is employed in this study to determine if environmental attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control influence ecotourism activity in natural regions. Furthermore, in the current study, the purpose is employed as the destination pictures, and the actual action is replaced with ecotourism behaviour

 

 

Common Method Bias: Please explain the significance of 40.653%. Is this percent high/low? Is it a satisfactory result?

 

Answer:

CMV is used to validate the question items across all constructs in the investigation, with just one component retrieved to assess the variance created by the questions in the current inquiry's single construct. A common variation of less than 50% suggests no common method bias in the data, the value is 40.653.

 

Please include the following three sections: Theoretical implications, Managerial implications, limitations and future research.

Answer:

Conclusion

This research provides theoretical implications for understanding digital marketing and ecotourism behaviour. The researchers are primarily interested in re-searching the indicators of tourism destination growth with digital marketing to tourists at the tourism destinations (66). Previous studies have neglected the digital marketing strategies for conserving the natural environment, community development, and educational opportunities connected to natural places with the destination image. Few academics have concentrated their efforts on conserving natural areas using digital marketing strategies (67). The current study used the concept of the theory of planned behaviour and empirically tested the relationship between digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour based on the conservation of natural areas, community development, and environmental education.

The current study employed a digital marketing approach to improve ecotourism behaviour among visitors to tourist locations (65). Several organisations have adopted digital marketing strategies (blogs, mobile applications, search engine optimisation, and social media) (68). However, Previous studies mostly ignored digital marketing strategies in the context of ecotourism behaviour. As a result, the current study added to the planned behaviour (TPB) adoption theory by broadening the scope of digital marketing strategies and ecotourism behaviour relevant to the tourist sector.

 

Practical implications

Furthermore, northern areas of Pakistan are economically underdeveloped and have a limited number of resources. As tourism grows, the community becomes more active in extracting natural resources, resulting in deforestation in most natural regions. Digital marketing strategies can create awareness and education to protect the natural areas. The use of digital media in environmental education conveys the message of responsible behaviour, which leads to the long-term growth of visitors visiting the northern areas and the local population. Social media and blogging are extensively utilised to spread information on ecotourism, offering a fantastic opportunity for locals to use these platforms to promote the local natural environment, destination image, and cultural values to tourists. That also benefits the local community economically and sends a message to tourists about responsible behaviour.

 

Study limitations

The current research's aims were met; however, it would not have been feasible without some limits on the scope of the investigation. First, to circumvent time and monetary limitations, the current study employed a small sample size. Most significantly, COVID-19 creates a highly unpredictable environment in which to conduct research. It was challenging to gather data and replies for the current study due to mobility control directives. The researcher utilized a random sample of 384 visitors who used digital marketing strategies and visited any of Pakistan's three regions. That uncovers a sample size and sampling process restriction. That reveals a sample size and sampling process restriction. This restriction may have an impact on the results' generalizability. The current study results may differ from those obtained with bigger sample size and alternative sampling techniques.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

I am still concerned about the depth of the contextual information in the literature review.

As a main example, TPB is still not explained. The authors state that this theory underpins the investigation, but they don't provide detail on what exactly TPB is or how it has been used in other contexts. Yes, its facets are used in the model, but the larger context of where TPB has been applied and why it is most appropriate here are left underdeveloped. This is a critical omission. This type of literature review is standard across papers and must be included here if this theory is stated as the basis for the work. As-is, it appears to be an afterthought.

The sentences on social media on lines 191-197 are confusing - please clarify.

I still don't understand why you truncated responses to only 384. If you had more responses than this, why not use them all? 384 is the statistical minimum needed to extrapolate to your scope of inference, not a maximum threshold. It seems very odd to have randomly selected/culled data points, especially if you are building a novel model where breadth of response is important.

The Conclusions section has been strengthened, but needs more work. State what exactly the contribution was for TPB and digital marketing beyond "broadening the scope." In the Practical Implications, also address how managers and tourism professionals could use this information. The focus on locals and communities is good.

Author Response

Q: As a main example, TPB is still not explained. The authors state that this theory underpins the investigation, but they don't provide detail on what exactly TPB is or how it has been used in other contexts. Yes, its facets are used in the model, but the larger context of where TPB has been applied and why it is most appropriate here are left underdeveloped. This is a critical omission. This type of literature review is standard across papers and must be included here if this theory is stated as the basis for the work. As-is, it appears to be an afterthought.

Answer: To better understand the complexities of human behavior, the TPB has been uti-lized to analyze and anticipate human behavior. The TPB expands on the TRA (theory of reasoned action) (15). The TRA examines how behavioral intention, attitude, and subjective criteria influence human behavior (18). Ajzen (15) introduced a new component to his model (i.e., perceived behavioral control). Ajzen, (15) utilized the TPB to show how attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control influence behavioural intention, driving actual behavior.

Many previous studies have used the TPB model to investigate environmental behavior (19), ecological behavior (20,21), low carbon behavior (22,23) and green consumption (24,25). These findings support the TPB model's ability to increase the explanatory and forecasting capacity of human behavior. Like ordinary individual decision-making behavior, tourist behavior is impacted by contextual interpretations and is not fully independent. As a result, this study uses a destination image as a mediating variable in the link between digital marketing and ecotourism behavior

 

Q: The sentences on social media on lines 191-197 are confusing - please clarify.

Answer: Additionally, for many businesses, social media is becoming a separate tourist marketing and communication strategy since marketers can directly connect with tourists and influence their decision-making processes by using social media platforms (38). Moreover, social media may play an important role in improving the quality of tourist destinations in terms of awareness and planning to safeguard environmental degradation, as well as in the creation of new destinations for tourists (40).

 

Q: I still don't understand why you truncated responses to only 384. If you had more responses than this, why not use them all? 384 is the statistical minimum needed to extrapolate to your scope of inference, not a maximum threshold. It seems very odd to have randomly selected/culled data points, especially if you are building a novel model where the breadth of response is important.

Answer: The researcher randomly chose 384 tourists from tourist destinations as prescribed by the Morgen Table (62). To get the possible sample size of 384 from three regions, the current study distributed 800 questionnaires with a response rate of more than 50%. Data was collected using a Google form from visitors who visited hotels, popular tourist destinations in the area, and adventurer tourists camping in the camps. The data response rate was exceedingly sluggish, and we collected the data over many emailing sessions. However, after the third time, the number of replies hit 384, and we had to stop collecting data owing to the Morgen table requirement. Because of the COVID-19 scenario and the difficulty in accessing visitors in the targeted region.Tourists visiting Gilgit-Baltistan, Naran, Kaghan, Muree, and Galyat, Pakistan's most popular tourist sites, provided data for this study. The three locations were chosen because the number of tourists visiting.

Q: The Conclusions section has been strengthened, but needs more work. State what exactly the contribution was for TPB and digital marketing beyond "broadening the scope

Answer: Previous research has revealed little evidence of TPB theoretical development being applied in digital marketing strategies. The use of digital marketing strategies to replace attitudes toward subjective norms and perceived behavioral control is one of the study's contributions. Digital marketing strategies are employed as the control behavior mechanism as a theoretical complement to planned behavior implementation. The second contribution of the current study is destination image, which is used as the intention that leads to actual behavior. The third development of the current study in TPB is that behavior is employed as ecotourism behavior.

Q:" In the Practical Implications, also address how managers and tourism professionals could use this information. The focus on locals and communities is good.

Answer: Moreover, the tourist sector may use these findings to attract the customer and raise awareness of the relevance of ecotourism behavior. They may utilize digital marketing to protect the environment and encourage sustainable ecotourism behavior. All players in the Pakistan tourism sector, including departments, private tour operators, and the hotel industry, are critical in raising knowledge about tourists' destination image and behavior in these tourist destinations. They can express a message about destination destinations' image, such as how pollution, rubbish, and waste can degrade the natural beauty of these locations. Tourists can be educated about these essential habits using digital means.

Reviewer 4 Report

The paper was much improved.

Author Response

Thank you for you suggesstions for improving our work and acknowledging the improvements