Transforming customer behavior into pro-environmental citizenship as a new challenge in sustainability-based marketing communication in ecotourism industry

Planetary crises, including biodiversity loss, are a serious concern for global communities. Ecotourism industry, which relies on biodiversity as the main resource, must play an important role in providing real solutions by building sustainability-based tourism, creating awareness and pro-environmental behavior among tourists. Sustainability-based marketing communication is an effective tool to address this challenge. The study objectives were to examine the role of customer-perceived sustainability (CPS) and customer educational experience of biodiversity (CEEB) on awareness of biodiversity (AOB) and pro-environmental citizenship behavior (PECB), as well as examining the role of AOB on PECB. This study used quantitative methods, and the analysis was carried out using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling with data from 286 tourists who visited Kembang Island Conservation Park in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The results revealed that CPS and CEEB played a significant role in encouraging AOB and PECB. Likewise, AOB played a significant role in PECB. Novelty: Perceived sustainability and biodiversity experience in the perspective of experience economy theory may transform customer behavior into pro-environmental citizenship in the framework of sustainability-based marketing communication, and implied in an integrated manner. This study contributes to accelerating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Article 15 (life on land).