The effectiveness of environmental education: can we turn tourists into "greenies'?

A study which tested the effectiveness of an education programme for managing tourists was conducted at Tangalooma, Australia. At this holiday resort tourists are able to hand-feed a group of wild dolphins which visit the shallow waters adjacent to the resort's beach. The education programme, which uses techniques derived from cognitive psychology and learning theory, attempted to prompt increased enjoyment, knowledge and improved environmental attitudes, intentions and behaviour in participants. The study, which compared a control group who were not exposed to the education with an experiment group who were, found that desirable changes did occur as a result of the programme. This research provides much needed evidence that education can be an effective means of managing tourists' interaction with wildlife and the natural environment © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.