Abstract
<jats:p>The preliminary results show that educational interventions may help develop awareness and motivation, but will reduce the intention to visit fragile sites. This proves that demarketing education can be used to affect visitor behaviors and attitudes towards fragile sites. In addition, these results may contribute to theoretical development because it establishes a connection between education and behavior change within the framework of Overtourism studies. Heritage sites are facing numerous issues due to overtourism, which is affecting not only the environment, but also the cultural and societal aspects of these areas. Tourism management through regulation and marketing strategies appears to be ineffective when addressing these problems. This research aims at understanding how demarketing education can be applied to change the tourists' behavior and motivations regarding fragile heritage sites. Two theories that form the basis of the framework include Social Cognitive Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior. The conceptual model encompasses the variables such as demarketing education, increased awareness of tourists, altered motivations and intentions, and reduced pressure. Initial data show that educational interventions can enhance awareness and motivations, but decrease intentions to visit fragile places. These findings indicate that demarketing education can be used as an effective tool for changing visitor perceptions and behaviors. Moreover, these outcomes contribute theoretically by linking the concepts of education and behavior change in the field of tourism management. In terms of the application of demarketing education for sustainable tourism practices, destination managers may use these findings in their practice. By incorporating demarketing education into sustainable development policies, destination managers can reconcile visitor interaction with heritage protection.</jats:p>