Summary

This case study, informed by an instrumental case study approach (Li, 2023; Stake, 1995), presents a teaching innovation that explores the application of a sustainable tourism planning game and how it potentially enhances the sustainability competences of undergraduate and postgraduate students at a university in Hong Kong, as well as three collaborating universities in Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan. It has demonstrated that its game workshops, which invite active learning, can be inclusive and sustainable. A mixed-methods approach employing both questionnaires and focus group discussions has been adopted to explore the impact of the innovation. Several practical implications were identified from analysis of the data collected, including the importance of considering students as partners and striking a balance between the educational and entertainment values of the workshops, as well as taking ample care in explaining the rules and relating them to the real-world context.

Introduction

Traditional methods such as lectures and tutorials still play a large part in tourism and sustainable development education today (Fischer et al., 2022; Mínguez et al., 2021). However, over recent decades, tourism has faced a range of emerging global risks related to unsustainability and resource overexploitation, which have a significant impact across continents (Gössling & Scott, 2025). Navigating such a complex and uncertain world, with evolving political, social, technological, and economic changes in tourism development, it is imperative to inform and guide our students to reflect on the importance of living and travelling sustainably, going beyond the static information written in the textbooks and other printed materials.

Game-based learning has been progressively utilised as a novel active learning approach, which has been shown to improve students’ intrinsic motivation (Tüzün et al., 2009) and engagement (Ke et al., 2016), as well as to promote problem-solving and collaboration skills (Sun et al., 2022), thereby providing an ideal platform for active learning (Asniza et al., 2021). Compared with traditional learning methods, participation in game-based learning activities has been found to be more effective for knowledge enrichment and fosters greater confidence and independence in class interactions, which, in turn, enhances the overall teaching and learning process. Well-designed games can advance students from mere knowledge retention to higher-order educational objectives. For example, students could ‘apply,’ ‘analyse,’ ‘evaluate,’ and ‘create’ knowledge (Anderson et al., 2001; Armstrong, 2010; Chou et al., 2023).

Making active learning inclusive and sustainable through game-based workshops

To effectively realise this active learning experience, a sustainable tourism planning game was presented to local and international students in the form of 13 face-to-face and four online game workshops, depending on the locations of the students. The students were divided into two teams in each workshop to participate in the gameplay. A total of 153 students participated in this study by attending either a face-to-face or online game workshop held between October 2024 and February 2025, details of which are presented in Table 1, with no restrictions to their study subject at the university.

Designed for up to eight players, the game splits participants into two teams to compete on a gameboard to collect all 17 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) cards as quickly as possible through investing resources into missions representing sustainable tourism practices (Figure 1). Players will occasionally encounter abrupt incidents (which are some built-in challenges) that drastically alter the dynamics of the game and require them to navigate unexpected occurrences. The game is developed for two different teaching modalities: a paper board version and a digital version. This is intended to cater to both face-to-face and virtual teaching and learning environments, as well as accommodate small and large class sizes. This project exemplifies active learning, as students engage in activities by playing the game, communicating, cooperating, and competing with their peers. This participation necessitates the synthesis of knowledge about tourism geographies. Specifically, strategic decision-making involving resource investment and possession, as well as consensus-building, are essential skills for students to succeed in the game. Further information on the game is available at https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/eLearning/proj/GRM_SDG-TourismGames/. (A game guidebook is available upon request made to the first author.)

The project team has exerted significant efforts to ensure that the game workshops are as inclusive as possible. The students participating in these workshops come from a wide variety of disciplines, such as geography, tourism, urban studies, psychology, business administration, languages, engineering, mathematics, and other science subjects. Students with diverse backgrounds are essential in fostering the acknowledgement and exchange of ideas and opinions. The theme of the game focuses on the SDGs and sustainable tourism, making it applicable to any student, regardless of their field of study or learning background. A game facilitator, typically a course instructor or teacher, must familiarise themselves with the game rules outlined in the guidebook to lead the workshops effectively. The facilitator may also use the case stories booklet included in the boxset, which contains real-world examples of sustainable and unsustainable tourism development, online resources related to the SDGs, and their own experiences to enhance the teaching and learning process of the students.

Regarding the sustainability of the game platform, both the board and digital versions can be reused multiple times and reproduced easily. For gameplay, teachers can train other instructors to lead the game workshop sessions, while students who have learnt to play can also teach their peers, creating a ripple effect in teaching and learning. Therefore, the game workshops can be conducted multiple times with minimal investment. While the game used in this case study is customised to teach sustainable tourism development, it can be easily adapted to various subjects, (inter)disciplinary and socio-cultural contexts connected to the SDGs. These encompass a wide spectrum of social sciences topics pertinent to people’s wellbeing and living, including environmental and resource management, spatial and transport planning, social inequality, consensual decision- and policy-making, and economic development. Beyond the field of social sciences, the game may also be applied to teaching in entrepreneurship and corporate governance. There is strong potential to develop multiple editions of the game by modifying the missions and events while employing the same game mechanics.

Evaluating the effectiveness of game-based learning in heightening students’ sustainability competences

Prior to any data collection, ethics approval was obtained from the university ethics committee (Ref. No.: SBRE-23-0367). To assess whether the students’ sustainability competences have improved after participating in the game workshops, we adopted a mixed-methods approach to explore a knowledge-attitude-behaviour (KAB) framework based on Bloom’s taxonomy (Gericke et al., 2019; Olsson et al., 2016; Schrader & Lawless, 2004). The KAB framework has been widely applied in different educational contexts, including sustainable development practices, healthcare, and environmental awareness (Lou & Chen, 2009; Schrader & Lawless, 2004). In this study, ‘knowledge’ refers to the information and understanding students possess about the SDGs and sustainable tourism, while ‘attitude’ concerns their beliefs and opinions towards sustainable development and tourism. ‘Behavioural intention’ measures students’ intentions to exhibit actions and practices of responsible tourists.

All workshops involved a pre- and post-game questionnaire-based survey, where students indicated their levels of agreement on a series of 7-point Likert scale statements (1 = Strongly Disagree; 7 = Strongly Agree) related to each of the three constructs. The post-game questionnaire also included statements for evaluating the gameplay experience and an open-ended question inviting comments and suggestions about the workshops. Additionally, the online workshops featured a post-game focus group discussion aimed at collecting qualitative feedback on both the gameplay experience and the pedagogical effectiveness of the game.

The quantitative analysis demonstrated significant improvements in students’ sustainability competences across KAB intentions. Pre- and post-game comparisons revealed statistically significant increases in mean scores for knowledge (4.72 to 5.72; t = -9.78, p ≤0.001, d = -0.89), attitudes (5.90 to 6.19; t = -3.33, p = 0.001, d = -0.75), and behavioural intentions (5.20 to 5.81; t = -6.03, p < 0.001, d = -0.89) (Table 2). Large effect sizes (Cohen’s d > 0.70) for knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural intentions emphasise the actual impact of the game, indicating substantial improvement (Cohen, 2013).

One prominent finding from the qualitative data collected is the balance between educational and entertainment values. Participants acknowledged the educational value of the game as an effective tool for conveying the concept of sustainable development while also emphasising the importance of engaging gameplay in maintaining interest: ‘This was excellent as we can learn and enhance awareness towards SDG through a fun and competitive game’ (survey respondent from Hong Kong). This highlights the success of the game-based learning approach in SDG and tourism education. Conversely, some feedback revealed tensions between competitive gameplay and learning objectives: ‘Sometimes our focus will be on winning rather than the educational information’ (focus group discussant from Portugal). This illustrates the challenge of maintaining balance, where the desire to win can diminish the educational experience and overly competitive elements can overshadow educational goals.

Another key finding is the importance of clear instructions and intuitive design, particularly in virtual settings of the digital game version. Participants experienced challenges in understanding game rules: ‘The rules were a bit confusing at first, and it took me a few rounds to get into the flow of the game’ (focus group discussant from Hong Kong). This aligns with suggestions for providing better tutorials, such as pre-game rehearsals or instructional videos, rather than a textual guidebook. Moreover, some participants emphasised the need for guidance tools: ‘There is a need for a “help” option for the game for better guidance’ (survey respondent from Hong Kong). These insights underscore the necessity of user-friendly designs and supportive features, such as interactive instructions and accessible help options, to maximise engagement and learning.

Practical implications: From gameplay to active learning

One important practical implication of this case study is the need to consider students as partners. During the game development process, over 20 student partners participated in multiple brainstorming workshops to conceptualise the gameplay rules and select real-world cases, resulting in seven prototypes that were produced and tested. By integrating their insights and feedback throughout the development process, the game can be tailored to meet students’ educational needs, maximising its benefits and impacts. In the game workshops, students engaged and immersed themselves in the strategic, interactive, and competitive gameplay. This is evidenced by high evaluation scores (6.24 on a 7-point Likert scale) and positive written feedback in the questionnaire. Students involved in this approach to game-based learning are much more likely to recommend it to their peers, thereby enhancing its sustainability.

Future attempts at similar active learning approaches could consider two key takeaways from this work. First, it is essential to strike a balance between the educational and entertainment values of the game, which can be delicate. A game that focuses too heavily on educational significance may bore students, failing to unleash the benefits of game-based learning. Conversely, if the game is overly competitive or intensive, students may feel they have not learnt much. Justifying how the game mechanics simulate real-world functions can help students understand the consequences of their in-game decisions as if they were made in reality. Second, challenges may arise in explaining the game rules and their relationship to real-life situations. For example, explicating investments in missions representing real-world examples of tourism development and sustainability can be difficult, especially in virtual game workshops where instruction is limited to audio-visual methods rather than hands-on experiences. Therefore, teachers should pay meticulous attention in preparing explanatory materials (Tobias et al., 2014). When students clearly understand how to play the game strategically, their engagement and interest will be maximised, thereby enhancing its pedagogical value. Additionally, the game design and interface should be as intuitive as possible, allowing students to quickly grasp its flow and tactics.

Key takeaways

• Students should be considered as partners when designing active learning approaches.
• Striking a balance between the educational and entertainment values of the game is essential for optimising an active learning environment.
• Attention should be paid to clearly explaining the game flow and tactics to students before the learning session.

Acknowledgements

This case study includes two projects: Sustainable Tourism Planning Games for Cross-disciplinary and Territory Knowledge Sharing and Student Engagement, supported by Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant (TDLEG) for the 2022-25 Triennium, CUHK (Project No.: 4170988); and A Comparative Study of Sustainability Competence Evaluation of Tourism and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Game-based Learning, supported by Funding Scheme to Support Pedagogical Research under Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant 2022-25 (Project No. 4171149). The authors would also like to acknowledge the contributions to the projects provided by the following team members: LAI, Chung Hin Kenneth, Instructional Media Production Specialist, Centre for eLearning Innovation and Technology (ELITE), CUHK SO, Pui Lam, Assistant Computer Officer, Information Technology Services Centre (ITSC), CUHK.

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About the authors

Chung-Shing Chan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Resource Management (GRM), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Wong Shing Yan and Xu Yuan are Research Assistants in GRM, CUHK. Vienne Lin is a Research Associate in the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research, CUHK.

Corresponding Author: Chung-Shing Chan, ccs_johnson@cuhk.edu.hk