NS34 Session 26

 

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Title: Sustainable Behaviour in Tourism and Hospitality

Organisers: Sarah Seidel and Konstantin Gridnevskiy

Affiliation: NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences

 

Description

Tourism and hospitality are under growing pressure to respond to climate change, digital disruption, and wider sustainability and equity challenges while remaining viable and socially responsible. As tourism operates in a rapidly changing world, the sector is increasingly expected to act as an active agent for good. If tourism is to contribute to more sustainable, equitable, and regenerative futures, change must also happen at the level of everyday decisions: what guests choose, how staff act, and what managers and owners prioritise. This session invites papers that examine sustainable behaviour in tourism and hospitality, focusing on how and under what conditions individuals can be encouraged and enabled to make more sustainable choices. Nudging behaviour of individual choices can play a role in supporting the SDGs—for example sustainable consumption (goal 12), lower food waste (goal 2), reduced water consumption (goal 6), climate action (goal 13), or reduced inequalities (goal 10).

We welcome research that explores behavioural change among tourists/guests, employees, managers, entrepreneurs, and other individuals shaping the tourism value chain. Contributions may address how values and motivations (e.g., hedonic, egoistic, altruistic, biospheric) influence decision-making, and how interventions—such as nudges, communication, incentives, or digitally mediated prompts—can make sustainable options easier and more beneficial. We also encourage critical perspectives on unintended effects and ethical questions: Who is targeted by behaviour-change strategies? Who benefits? What responsibilities are shifted from organisations to individuals? And how do behavioural approaches interact with structural constraints such as cost, accessibility, seasonality, labour conditions, power relations, and broader societal transitions affecting tourism?

Possible topics include:

• Behaviour in protected areas or high-pressure environments;
• Reducing food and material waste and resource conservation;
• Product and food choices and local sourcing;
• Sustainable transport and mobility decisions;
• Motivating tourism and hospitality providers to implement sustainability measures;
• The role of digital tools (including AI-enabled systems) in influencing choices and supporting more inclusive and sustainable tourism practices.

This session aims to bring together empirical and conceptual work that clarifies what works, for whom, and why—supporting tourism and hospitality in becoming more responsible and effective contributors to sustainable and regenerative development in a changing world.

 

Abstracts

Title: When Sustainability Meets Technology: How Context Shapes Guest Behaviour in Rural and Urban Hospitality
Authors: Sofia Almeida, Universidade Europeia, CETRAD-UTAD, Natalia Pacheco, Alexandre Guedes, and Lelis Espartel

The growing integration of digital technologies into sustainability practices is transforming the hospitality sector. Smart monitoring systems, automation, and digital resource management tools increasingly support hotels in improving environmental performance. However, technological sustainability solutions do not automatically translate into positive guest perceptions or behavioural outcomes. In experience-based services such as hospitality, guests interpret sustainability initiatives through symbolic and contextual lenses, including perceived authenticity and the alignment between the practice implemented and the identity of the place. This study explores how different types of sustainability practices—technology-enabled solutions and low-technology initiatives—shape guest perceptions and behavioural intentions in hospitality settings. In particular, the research examines how these practices influence perceived authenticity, satisfaction, intention to recommend, and intention to revisit. The study also investigates two key psychological mechanisms that may explain these relationships: perceived authenticity of the experience and the perceived congruence between the sustainability initiative and the hospitality context. Methodologically, the research employs two vignette-based experimental studies administered through the Prolific platform. The experiments manipulate the type of hospitality context (rural versus urban) and the type of sustainability practice implemented. This design enables the identification of causal effects and comparison of guest responses across territorial contexts. By examining how sustainability practices are interpreted by guests, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of sustainable behaviour in tourism and hospitality. The findings offer insights for hospitality managers seeking to implement sustainability initiatives that are not only environmentally effective but also perceived as authentic and contextually appropriate by guests.

Keywords: sustainability; technology; authenticity; congruence; guest responses; rural–urban hospitality contexts

 

Title: Influencing Sustainable Food Consumption During Holidays Among Generation Z
Author: Sarah Seidel, NHL Stenden University

Generation Z, comprising individuals born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, is emerging as a powerful consumer group shaping global trends in tourism and hospitality. This generation is often portrayed as the most sustainability-oriented, reflecting a growing shift toward environmentally conscious consumption patterns (Kara & Min, Nguyen et al., 2025; 2024; Seyfi et al., 2023). However, this perception requires closer examination. While Generation Z demonstrates high awareness of climate change and expresses strong support for sustainable choices, their actual behaviour does not always align with these intentions. For instance, they frequently engage in long-distance air travel, fast-fashion consumption, and online shopping practices that involve extensive transportation and packaging (Djafarova & Foots, 2022; The Economist, 2023; The Week, 2023).

Beyond their role in tourism, Generation Z also shows significant concern for food-related choices (Halicka et al., 2025). Research indicates that they tend to adopt healthier diets, are more inclined toward vegetarian or vegan options, and often prefer locally sourced food. Nonetheless, convenience remains an important influencing factor (Chen et al., 2024; Kılıç et al., 2021; Orea-Giner & Fusté-Forné, 2023).

Building on last year’s research highlighting the gap between stated intentions and actual behaviour, this study examines how Generation Z can be encouraged to make more sustainable food choices and how barriers to such behaviour can be reduced. Given that food consumption accounts for a substantial portion of tourist expenditure and plays a central role in cultural exchange, promoting sustainable food practices offers a direct pathway to fostering more sustainable behaviour in tourism overall (Apak & Guerbuez, 2023).

References

Apak, Ö. C., & Guerbuez, A. (2023). The effect of local food consumption of domestic tourists on sustainable tourism. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 71, 103192.

Chen, J., Xu, A., Tang, D., & Zheng, M. (2024). Divergence and convergence: a cross-generational study on local food consumption. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 13463.

Djafarova, E., & Foots, S. (2022). Exploring ethical consumption of generation Z: Theory of planned behaviour. Young Consumers, 23(3), 413-431.

Halicka, E., Kaczorowska, J., Rejman, K., & Plichta, M. (2025). Investigating the Consumer Choices of Gen Z: A Sustainable Food System Perspective. Nutrients, 17(3), 591.

Kara, S., & Min, J. (2024). Generation Z and sustainable consumption: Emerging trends and behavioural patterns. Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

Kılıç, B., Bekar, A., & Yozukmaz, N. (2021). Determining the food consumption habits of Generation Z. Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies, 9(1), 1–15.

Nguyen, T. T., Salem, M., & Wagner, R. (2025). Determinants of Gen Z’s sustainable wanderlust. Discover Sustainability, 6, 1195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-02091-y

Orea-Giner, A., & Fusté-Forné, F. (2023). Local food consumption and tourism sustainability: Insights from Generation Z. Sustainability, 15(4), 3456.

Seyfi, S., Hall, C. M., & Strzelecka, M. (2023). Generation Z and sustainable tourism consumption: A systematic review. Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

The Economist. (2023). How the young spend their money. Retrieved April 26, 2026, from https://www.economist.com

The Week. (2023). Why Gen Z struggles with sustainable consumption. Retrieved March 23, 2025, from https://www.theweek.com

 

Title: Sustainable Restaurants Toolkit – Co-Creating Sustainable Futures
Authors: Francisca Farache, School of Business and Law, University of Brighton, Adam Jones, and Julian Riano

Independent restaurants play a critical role in shaping destination identity, local economies and visitor experiences, yet they face significant challenges in adopting sustainable practices while maintaining financial viability. This study explores sustainable behaviour in the independent hospitality sector through an ongoing practice based intervention involving 50 restaurants in Brighton and Hove. Drawing on recent research that conceptualises sustainability through the interplay of motivation, opportunity and ability, the project examines how small businesses engage with sustainability under conditions of resource constraint, uncertainty and competing operational priorities.

The intervention centres on a Sustainable Restaurant Toolkit, comprising a structured checklist, a digital platform and a series of case studies designed to support incremental and context sensitive change. Initial findings indicate that while environmental awareness is present among operators, sustainable behaviour is more likely to be adopted when aligned with cost savings, efficiency gains and clear business benefits. At the same time, barriers including limited time, fragmented knowledge, supply chain constraints and inconsistent customer demand continue to shape engagement and limit progress.

This paper contributes to research on sustainable behaviour in tourism and hospitality by moving beyond attitudinal approaches towards practice oriented insights grounded in real world implementation. It highlights the importance of designing interventions that strengthen organisational capability while acknowledging the economic realities of independent operators. The study also raises questions about scalability and the role of collaborative, multi actor networks in enabling wider adoption across destinations.

 

Title: The Significance of Environmental Features in Airbnb Guest Experience
Author: Liv-Randi Røyset, University of Stavanger

This study explores the impact of guests’ experiences with Airbnb's environmental features on review score ratings, focusing on pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). The existing research on PEB in tourism accommodation has largely focused on hotels rather than peer-to-peer accommodations such as Airbnb. This study approaches this gap by examining how environmental features are experienced and reflected in guest evaluations and overall satisfaction levels.

The analysis draws on data from InsideAirbnb for the cities Oslo and Barcelona, combining information from two datasets per city, one focusing on listing information and the other on guest reviews. The datasets include over 20,000 short-term rental listings across the two cities, spanning different accommodation types, mostly consisting of entire homes and private rooms. Reviews are analysed using a predefined set of environmental keywords to identify references to features including renewable energy, electric vehicle charging, and sustainable transport options.

Multivariate regression models are used to examine the relationship between mentions of environmental features and listing-level review scores, while controlling for other variables related to listings and host characteristics.

The study contributes to tourism behaviour research by showing how environmental features of Airbnbs are interpreted and translated into evaluation outcomes, carrying implications for how hosts design and communicate environmental initiatives to influence guest perceptions and experiences.

 

Title: Sustainable Tourism and Ecosystem Services in Saline Environments in Texel, the Netherlands and Maremma National Park, Italy
Author: Katarzyna Negacz, VU Amsterdam

Both the North Sea Region and Tuscany host a range of natural and human-made saline environments that provide distinctive ecosystem services. While such saline environments are often associated with biodiversity conservation and agricultural production, their potential role in sustainable tourism remains relatively underexplored. There is therefore a need to identify and map the key ecosystem services provided by saline environments and to examine how these services can contribute to strategies for developing sustainable tourism experiences.

This study analyses how ecosystem services in salt-affected areas contribute to effective sustainable tourism strategies in the North Sea and Mediterranean regions. First, the study describes the ecosystem services provided by saline environments in the Netherlands, with a particular focus on Texel Island, and in Italy, within the Maremma National Park. The assessment involves mapping ecosystem services in both natural salty marshes and agricultural mosaic landscapes. In addition, the study investigates the value of these ecosystem services from a sustainable tourism perspective through stakeholder interviews and participatory workshops.

Preliminary results indicate that a wide range of ecosystem services contribute to sustainable tourism in both Dutch and Italian salt-affected areas. In particular, the analysis highlights the added value of provisioning ecosystem services that support distinctive saline food experiences, alongside cultural ecosystem services that facilitate nature-based and experiential tourism in these regions.

Keywords: sustainable tourism, saline environments, ecosystem valuation, nature tourism

 

Title: Nature Guides as Agents of Change. Does Training Matter for Sustainable Tourism Practices?
Authors: Peter Fredman, Mid Sweden University, Olga Milinchuk, and Hoai Nam Dang

Sweden’s nature-based tourism sector, renowned for its deep-rooted tradition of outdoor recreation and the right of public access, faces growing challenges as visitor numbers rise and environmental pressures intensify. This study explores the role of nature guides as agents of change, balancing visitor experiences with environmental sustainability. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research investigates the educational backgrounds, professional development needs, and sustainability competencies of nature guides in Sweden, focusing on how training and certification programs influence their skills in communication, safety, hospitality, and environmental awareness.

Through semi-structured interviews with experts from leading guide associations and a quantitative survey of 144 certified nature guides, the study reveals significant variability in skill proficiency across different training programs. Certified Nature Guides and those affiliated with the Swedish Tourist Guide Association demonstrate strong communication and hospitality skills, while Authorized Mountain Guides excel in safety but show notable gaps in environmental sustainability awareness. The results underscore a widespread demand among guides for further training in sustainability practices, nature interpretation, and business management.

The results highlight the need for standardized, comprehensive training that integrates sustainability principles more effectively, ensuring guides are equipped to promote environmentally responsible behavior among tourists. This study contributes to the broader discourse on professionalizing nature guiding and advancing sustainable tourism in Sweden and beyond.

 

Title: Guides as Facilitators of Transformative Experiences that Inspire Pro-Environmental Behaviour
Authors: Margrit Kärp, Junior Research Fellow, and Julia Nina Albrecht

Tourism is increasingly expected to act as an agent for good, yet a persistent gap remains between tourists’ pro‑environmental attitudes and what they actually do during and after trips. This paper focuses on interpretation and guiding as promising pathway to address this challenge. Interpretation has long been framed as an intentional, audience‑centred practice, so guiding encounters are understood as persuasive rather than purely informational. At the same time, guides act as cultural brokers whose framing shapes what visitors notice, value and do. Because action is situated and meanings emerge in practice, disorienting moments—followed by reflection—can reframe perspectives and enable more durable behavioural change. Together, these approaches suggest that guide-led outdoor activities, where place, embodiment, social interaction, and narrative converge, are especially suited to catalyse transformations in environmental conduct.

We develop and apply a framework that integrates persuasion theory with transformative learning to specify how guides’ message features (e.g., responsibility framing, norms, efficacy cues) and delivery strategies (e.g., storytelling, reflective questioning) may trigger transformative mechanisms such as awe, nature connection, self‑efficacy and identity shift.

Methodologically, we use a comparative qualitative design (Estonia; New Zealand). Guides are recruited via a short screening survey, then interviewed using the Critical Incident Technique to reconstruct specific “turning‑point” episodes where guides believe visitor behaviour changed. Interviews are complemented by targeted field observations and theory‑guided abductive thematic analysis.

Expected outcomes include a typology of persuasive guiding practices associated with perceived transformation and identification of contextual boundary conditions (activity risk/effort, setting fragility, group dynamics, guide credibility).

 

Title: Does Environmental Concern Shape Wildlife Tourism Experiences? Evidence from Whale-Watching
Authors: Jinghua Xie, University of Stavanger, and Aaron Tkaczynski

This study examines how environmental concern, spanning knowledge, interest, and action dimensions, shapes tourist experiences and eco-certification recognition in whale-watching tourism, drawing on survey data from whale-watching tourists in Australia, analysed using a logit model.

Results reveal a clear divergence across the three dimensions. Interest and routine pro-environmental action positively influence experience evaluations, while knowledge does not. Conversely, knowledge and action are the primary drivers of eco-certification recognition, with interest playing no significant role. These patterns are consistent with earlier findings, reinforcing that intrinsic interest in wildlife is more central to the experiential dimension than environmentally oriented knowledge.

A particularly notable finding is the negative effect of clean-up participation on experience and satisfaction evaluations. We interpret this as a compensation effect: tourists who are highly engaged in environmental protection may resist experiential restrictions, expecting conservation outcomes to be achieved through management and regulation rather than constraints on visitor behavior. This tension between everyday environmental commitment and tourism experience preferences represents a substantive contribution to the nature-based tourism literature.

For practitioners, findings suggest that knowledge-focused messaging is most effective for driving eco-certification uptake, while experience quality is best enhanced by targeting visitor interest and routine environmental engagement. These insights offer actionable guidance for whale-watching operators, destination managers, and eco-certification bodies seeking to align environmental goals with visitor satisfaction.