The Impact of a River Cleanup Program on Youth’s Pro-Environmental Behavior through Educational Tourism

Abstract This study examines how experiential educational tourism can foster pro-environmental behavior among youth, using a strategic management model validated through a river cleanup program. While educational tourism is recognized for linking learning with tangible outcomes, there is a lack of empirical validation for integrated frameworks that explain pathways to behavior change, particularly among youth populations. Using a quantitative approach, this study employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze data from 206 participants in Indonesia’s SatuBumi River Cleanup initiative. The conceptual framework, grounded in the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) model, posits that awareness, knowledge, motivation, and participation collectively shape pro-environmental behavior. The results show that the model explains a substantial amount of the variance in pro-environmental behavior (R² = 0.517), indicating strong predictive power. Findings from the hypothesis tests reveal that awareness, motivation, and participation significantly influence pro-environmental behavior. Conversely, knowledge showed no significant direct effect on behavior. This research offers a robust, empirically-tested model that refines behavioral theories by underscoring the limited role of knowledge alone in driving behavior change. The findings provide practical implications for policymakers and educators to design more effective and replicable environmental interventions.