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.