Abstract:
Eco-tourism has emerged as a transformative approach to achieving environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth in the tourism sector. As global travelers increasingly prioritize sustainability in their choices, businesses are compelled to innovate and integrate eco-friendly strategies to remain competitive. This study examines the impact of eco-tourism strategies on firm sales performance by focusing on key factors such as eco-organizational innovation, eco-product innovation, eco-process innovation, eco-tourism policy, social media marketing, and sustainable tourism development. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing a structured survey distributed to 150 respondents from the tourism sector. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the relationships and test the proposed hypotheses. Results reveal that eco-organizational innovation, eco-product innovation, and eco-process innovation significantly enhance sustainable tourism development, which positively impacts firm sales performance. In contrast, eco-tourism policy and social media marketing did not show direct effects on sustainable tourism development, although they play supportive roles in fostering sustainability practices. Sustainable tourism development emerged as a key mediator, bridging the relationship between eco-tourism strategies and firm sales performance. These findings suggest that firms prioritizing eco-friendly innovations in their organizational structures, products, and processes can achieve enhanced market competitiveness, stronger brand loyalty, and improved financial performance. The study highlights the importance of integrating sustainability into business operations and provides actionable insights for managers, policymakers, and researchers. Despite limitations such as reliance on self-reported data and a cross-sectional research design, this study contributes to the academic literature by empirically validating the relationship between eco-tourism strategies and firm sales performance. It establishes a foundation for future research to explore region-specific contexts and long-term impacts, emphasizing the strategic importance of sustainability in the dynamic tourism industry
