Sustainable Diving Tourism: The Role of Marketing, Environmental Concern, and Dive Master Dedication in Shaping Divers’ Attitudes

Abstract

This study investigates how sustainable tourism marketing practices and environmental concern influence divers’ marine environmental consciousness and, subsequently, their attitudes toward sustainable diving tourism development. Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), the study distinguishes between central-route cues (eco-labels, green purchase behavior, and environmental concern) and peripheral-route cues (user-generated content and influencers) in shaping divers’ pro-environmental cognition and attitudes. A quantitative research design was employed, with data collected from 185 certified divers using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test direct, mediating, and moderating relationships among the study constructs. The results indicate that green purchasing behavior, influencer engagement, and environmental concern significantly enhance marine environmental consciousness, which, in turn, strongly predicts attitudes toward sustainable diving tourism development. Marine environmental consciousness also mediates the relationships among green purchase, user-generated content, environmental concern, and sustainable attitudes, highlighting its role as a cognitive bridge between marketing stimuli and attitudinal outcomes. In contrast, eco-labels and dive master dedication do not show significant effects, suggesting that sustainable attitude formation depends more on personal cognitive elaboration and credible persuasive cues than on formal certification or operational roles. The findings have practical implications for policymakers, marketers, and dive operators, emphasizing the importance of authentic communication strategies that encourage divers to internalize environmental values. This study contributes to the literature by extending the application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model to marine tourism and by providing empirical evidence from an emerging diving-destination context.