Abstract:

The aim of the study is to identify the ecological footprint awareness of tourism graduate students, who are the potential labour force in tourism, and to reveal the change of this awareness according to the sociodemographic characteristics. The 2018 educational and academic year has formed a sample of the study of 394 students studying in the Bachelor of Tourism Business training programs. The primary data of the study was collected on the ecological footprint awareness scale. Data analysis is done through the SPSS 24 software. Basic analysis techniques are used as T-test and ANOVA. The ecological footprint consciousness scale used in the study consists of food, transport and housing, energy, waste and water consumption dimensions. The consciousness of individuals about the size of food was relatively high. Women’s ecological footprint awareness is higher than men’s awareness. The low-income group’s awareness of the waste and water consumption sizes is higher. Individuals who have a low level of mother and father education have higher ecological footprint awareness. Also, the levels of ecological footprint awareness of individuals involved in the study were found low. It is recommended that studies are conducted to increase the ecological footprint awareness of individuals.

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