Learning from museums: Resource scarcity in museum interpretations and sustainable consumption intention

Abstract

Resource consumption poses challenges to sustainable tourism development. Museums, crucial for fostering social virtues, hold untapped potential for public education on resource conservation. Through five experiments integrating scenario-based experiments, field experiments, and eye-tracking techniques, this research demonstrates that historical resource scarcity, particularly conveyed through museum interpretations, enhances tourists' sustainable consumption intentions. Eye-tracking evidence from real visitors in a museum highlights increased narrative engagement as the key underlying mechanism. Notably, the effect of interpreting historical resource scarcity depends on tourists' time orientation: future-oriented tourists are receptive to the educational impact of interpretations, while present-oriented tourists show diminished responsiveness. These findings significantly advance ecotourism literature by demonstrating how museum interpretations can serve as effective and engaging educational tools, encouraging tourists' sustainable practices.