Coastal tourism is a growing segment of the global tourist business. Nonetheless, the careless environmental behavior of travelers has precipitated significant problems. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the influence of visitors’ environmental knowledge and recreational experience on their environmental commitment and attitude, which subsequently impacts their pro-environmental behavior. It uses cognitive-affective-conative theory to deepen the comprehension of the factors affecting tourists’ pro-environmental behavior in the realm of coastal tourism in Vietnam. The proposed model was validated by partial least squares analysis with data collected from 303 online individuals with prior experience in coastal tourism in Vietnam, retrieved via Google Forms in April 2024 through convenience sampling. The findings reveal that environmental knowledge positively affected environmental commitment (β = .250, p = .000), environmental attitude (β = .331, p = .001), and travelers’ pro-environmental behavior (β = .220, p = .000). Moreover, the recreational experience positively impacted environmental commitment (β = .629, p = .000), environmental attitude (β = .385, p = .000), and travelers’ pro-environmental behavior (β = .259, p = .000). The research findings indicated a positive effect of environmental commitment on travelers’ pro-environmental behavior (β = .268, p = .000). Finally, visitors’ environmental attitudes positively influenced their pro-environmental behavior (β = .155, p = .006).
Acknowledgment
The author acknowledges the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, which supported this study.