Profiling Coffee Tourists: Can Responsible Tourism Awareness Be Detected?

Understanding tourists’ awareness of responsible tourism is important because visitors are active stakeholders whose actions directly influence environmental, sociocultural, and economic sustainability at destinations. This study adopts coffee tourism as the research context, focusing on coffee tourist attractions, which are defined as tourism settings where visitors participate in experiential activities within coffee plantations. Many such destinations integrate responsible farming methods and community engagement into their operations. These embedded practices make coffee tourism an especially pertinent context for investigating how immersive exposure to sustainable production shapes visitors’ awareness, attitudes, and understanding of responsible tourism. Hence, this research aims to: (1) identify who coffee tourists are through motivation-based segmentation; (2) examine the experiences they gain at coffee tourism attractions; and (3) explore whether responsible tourism awareness can be detected after their visits. A survey of 366 Indonesian tourists was analyzed using factor–cluster analysis to identify the segment. Next, ANOVA was used to analyze the experience among segments. Finally, content analysis of openended responses was used to detect the responsible tourism awareness from the tourist comments. Findings classify three distinct segments of coffee tourists: Relaxers, Enthusiasts, and Ambassadors. Relaxers are more passive and convenience oriented compared to the other segments. Enthusiasts reported the richest experiences across most dimensions, suggesting that active participation. Ambassadors scored higher on cognitive dimensions. Responsible tourism awareness varied across segments. Relaxers emphasized environmental stewardship, advocating for improved waste management and cleanliness. The Enthusiasts linked sustainability awareness to experiential learning and firsthand understanding of environmental and social issues. Last, the Ambassadors focused on knowledge sharing and interpretation of responsible practices. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.