Modeling tourists' pro-environmental behavior: a combination of the value-belief-norm theory and environmental identity theory

• Published in: Journal of environmental planning and management Vol. 67; no. 14; pp. 3694 - 3717
• Main Authors: He, Yunmeng, Xu, Feifei, Wang, Lijun, Nguyen, Hoaidan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 05.12.2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: administrative management; Behavior; ecotourism; Environmental behavior; Environmental behaviour; environmental identity theory; environmental self-identity; Identity; Morality; multiple-group structural equation model; Norms; pro-environmental behavior; Public transportation; Sustainable tourism; Theory; Tourism; Tourists; value-belief-norm theory; Values
• ISSN: 0964-0568; 1360-0559; 1360-0559
• DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2023.2232944

Tourists' pro-environmental behavior is critical in achieving sustainable tourism. This article examined the driving mechanism of tourists' pro-environmental behavior based on the Value-Belief-Norm and Environmental Identity theory, and: (1) An integrated model was established in both Chinese and Vietnamese tourists, and passed the multiple-group SEM analysis; (2) Environmental values, awareness of consequences, environmental self-identity, and moral norms were important influencing factors of tourists' pro-environmental behavior: Environmental values were basics, which indirectly affected tourists' behavior through awareness of consequences, environmental self-identity, and moral norms; Moral norms were the most direct factors that stimulate pro-environmental behavior; Environmental self-identity, awareness of consequences, and moral norms were mediating variables, which played intermediary roles between environmental values and pro-environmental behavior; (3) Differences between groups were also identified: There was no significant difference except for "environmental values→awareness of consequences", but there were significant differences in the mean score for "environmental values", "awareness of consequences", "moral norms" and "public transport behavior". Implications are made accordingly.