Tour guide role and environmental awareness impact on visitor engagement and sustainable heritage behavior

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether visitors’ engagement in guided tours at cultural heritage sites boosts sustainable heritage behaviors. Visitors’ environmental awareness and the role of tour guides are also investigated as moderating variables. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study was conducted to examine data collected from 249 visitors who participated in guided tours at Egyptian cultural heritage sites. Data was analyzed using Amos 24.0. Findings Results confirm that engagement in guided tours significantly impacts visitors’ sustainable practices at cultural heritage sites. In addition, the tour guide’s role and visitors’ environmental awareness significantly moderate the previous correlation. Research limitations/implications The study used purposeful sampling to select participants from cultural heritage site visitors through travel agencies and tour guides. While this method provided valuable insights, a broader, randomly selected sample would likely yield more scalable findings. Practical implications The study implies that the tour guide must be more active in encouraging sustainable behavior among visitors in heritage sites. On the other hand, stakeholders must take action to raise awareness among visitors to promote sustainable heritage behavior. Originality/value This study provides new insights into visitor engagement in heritage sites to promote sustainable behavior, an understudied approach, especially in the heritage context. Incorporating the moderating role of tour guides and environmental awareness in the previous relationship is an area that has not been thoroughly explored in the prior research.