KOREASCHOLAR

This study focuses on Singaporeans’ perceptions of ecotourism products. Singapore is a highly urban country with very little green areas. Most of Singapore’s green spaces are man-made. Because of the lack of natural environment as compared to other Asian countries, such as Taiwan, Japan and China, Singaporeans generally have very little exposure, understanding and appreciation of eco-products. This study attempts to add knowledge to the understanding of urban residents’ (such as Singaporeans) attitudes towards ecotourism products so that marketers are able to better develop or customize their ecotourism products to better meet the needs of these potential customers. A survey was conducted in high traffic areas throughout Singapore, such as train stations, bus interchanges and shopping malls. Convenience sampling was used because the study is exploratory. Interviewers were instructed to survey people aged 20 and older, an age group when people make their own vacation choices. The survey was divided into five parts: travel motivation, vacation choices, environmental consciousness, vacation selection and demographic profiles. Respondents were asked to rank their travel motivations, similar to the ones used by Eagles (1992). Respondents were classified as “ecotourists” or “mainstream” using the criteria of Litvin (1996) and Litvin and Chiam (2014). Respondents were asked to rate a series of statements pertaining to their perception of new ecotourism products. For vacation choices, the respondents were asked to rate a series of statements related to their leadership abilities to influence others on ecotourism products and their knowledge about tourist products, especially those related to ecotourism. In the section on environmental consciousness, respondents were asked how their attitude towards environmental issues influences their purchasing decisions when they are on vacation. Data was analyzed using the t-test to determine if there was any significant difference between the ecotourists and the mainstream tourists. The respondents were then given two vacation choices, an ecotourism product and a mainstream tourist product. They were required to select one of them for their vacation.The last section collected demographic data, such as age, education, household income as well as their marital status. A total of 333 adults participated in this study, 60% female, most younger than 40 years old and single. More than half of the respondents had completed their post-secondary education and belong to middle-income households. About a third of the respondents were classified as “ecotourists” and the rest as mainstream tourists. The average age of the ecotourists was slightly lower than the mainstream tourists (34.19 as compared to 36.93). More than half (55.6%) of the ecotourists have at least a university degree, while the rate of this for mainstream tourists was slightly lower (42.9%). More mainstream tourists (81.6%) see themselves as belonging to upper- and middle-income households than do ecotourists (79.6%). Both the ecotourists and mainstream tourists selected “having fun and being entertained” and “being together as a family” as their top two motivations for travel. Not surprisingly, the desire to be in the wilderness and undisturbed nature and visiting national and state parks appears to be more prominent among the ecotourists than among the mainstream tourists. When the respondents were asked to choose between a pair of vacation packages, one mainstream and one ecotourism, the results were not surprising. More than half (54.8%) of the ecotourists chose an ecotourism package, as compared to only 30.5% of the mainstream tourists. The ecotourists tended to be more knowledgeable about travel destinations and were more proactive in searching for information on new vacation destinations. They were more willing to try new and even unknown vacation destinations. For example, using a Likert scale of 1 to 5, with 1 signifying “strongly disagree” and 5 “strongly agree,” ecotourists were more willing to go to a new destination even if they had not heard about it (3.29) than were mainstream tourists (3.15), Using a Likert scale of 1 to 6, with 1 signifying “strongly disagree” and 6 “strongly agree,” the ecotourists were more environmentally conscious than mainstream tourists. For example, they were willing to pay extra for eco-friendly travel products (4.13) than were mainstream tourists (3.87). The ecotourists were also more likely to consider environmental issues when making their tourism purchases (3.97) than were the mainstream tourists (3.79). The results show that there were significantly more ecotourists among this adult sample (34.8%) than among Litvin’s (1996) sample of students (26%). There are several possible explanations for this phenomenon. For instance, an adult population might be more aware of ecotourism and more conscious of environmental conservation. The ecotourists tend to be younger and have slightly lower income than mainstream tourists. In order to incentivize this younger population to consume ecotourism products, marketers will have to source more value-for-money eco-destinations for these cost-conscious tourists. This could be done through using the existing facilities used by the locals and authentic experiences could be created by lodging and eating with the locals using local produce found in the same vicinity. This study also found differences based on nationality. The top two motivations among the Singaporean ecotourists are (1) have fun and being entertained and (2) being together as a family, whereas the Canadian ecotourists ranked (1) wilderness and undisturbed nature and (2) lakes and streams as their two top motivations for travel. These differences can be attributed to national values (Asian vs. Canadian) as well as differences in exposure to eco-sites. Asian families value being together. Therefore, when they go overseas for a holiday, they like to go as a family, viewing vacation as an opportunity for bonding among the family members. The results seem to reflect that Singapore is a city, and most of the livable space is filled with concrete buildings and structures. Most of the limited green space in Singapore is man-made, with the exception of a few eco-sites. In contrast, many western countries offer vast natural sites such as mountain, streams, parks and wilderness for the locals to use for their leisure activities. Therefore, the urban Singaporeans might choose to spend leisure hours in activities that are not available at home, such as wild water rafting, trekking in the wilderness and camping next to a lake. What can marketers do to market ecotourism products to Singaporeans? Since being with family for holiday and having fun with each other are deemed important to Singaporeans, marketers may want to develop ecotourism products that are suitable for families. In these packages, this could include some fun activities such as staying in a log house next to the lake where they can enjoy meals cooked from produce found in that location and also learn about conservation of the environment. Since Singaporean ecotourists are environmentally conscious, marketers may want to sell ecotourism products that have an environmental conservation message. For instance, they might create programs whereby, for every dollar spent in each of these ecotourism products, a certain percentage will be donated to conservation programs. By educating the Singaporean travelers, more mainstream travelers may be made aware of these travel options and may want to try these ecotourism products. To attract ecotourists, marketers may want to strengthen their ecotourism product offerings to give these travelers more vacation options.

• Michael Chiam(Ngee Ann Polytechnic)