IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i12p5525-d1679903.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Attitudinal Segmentation and the Perceived Value of Sustainable Practices in Luxury Hotels: Evidence from Chinese Tourists

Author

Listed:
  • Nathakorn Loedphacharakamon

    (Graduate School of Tourism Management (GSTM), National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok 10240, Thailand)

  • Therdchai Choibamroong

    (Graduate School of Tourism Management (GSTM), National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok 10240, Thailand)

Abstract

This study examines how Chinese tourists perceive the value of sustainable practices implemented in five-star hotels in Phuket, Thailand, through the lens of the perceived value theory and the service experience framework. While luxury hotels increasingly adopt green initiatives, research exploring how tourists evaluate these efforts across the full guest journey is limited. Addressing this gap, this study aimed to examine how attitudinally distinct tourist segments perceive sustainable practices across three service stages: pre-consumption, consumption, and post-consumption. A cross-sectional survey of 400 Chinese tourists was conducted, applying k-means clustering to segment respondents by sustainability attitudes, followed by multi-group structural equation modeling. Two segments emerged: environmentally engaged travelers and conventional comfort travelers. The results indicate that the emotional value dominates during the stay, the functional value drives pre-stay decisions, and the ethical/social value shapes post-stay reflections. Environmentally engaged tourists were more responsive to ethical and social cues. The findings highlight sustainability as a multidimensional, stage-specific construct moderated by guest attitudes. Theoretically, this research extends perceived value frameworks by mapping sustainability perceptions across the guest journey. Practically, it offers actionable insights for hotel managers seeking to design value-aligned green strategies and segmented communication. Tailoring sustainability initiatives to tourist profiles can enhance satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy in the luxury hospitality sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Nathakorn Loedphacharakamon & Therdchai Choibamroong, 2025. "Attitudinal Segmentation and the Perceived Value of Sustainable Practices in Luxury Hotels: Evidence from Chinese Tourists," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-26, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:12:p:5525-:d:1679903
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/12/5525/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/12/5525/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Juvan, Emil & Dolnicar, Sara, 2016. "Measuring environmentally sustainable tourist behaviour," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 30-44.
    2. Verhoef, Peter C. & Lemon, Katherine N. & Parasuraman, A. & Roggeveen, Anne & Tsiros, Michael & Schlesinger, Leonard A., 2009. "Customer Experience Creation: Determinants, Dynamics and Management Strategies," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 31-41.
    3. Konstantakopoulou, Ioanna, 2022. "Does health quality affect tourism? Evidence from system GMM estimates," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 425-440.
    4. Tai Ming Wut & Daisy Lee & Stephanie Wing Lee, 2023. "Does Attitude or Intention Affect Behavior in Sustainable Tourism? A Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-14, September.
    5. Samah Ibnou-Laaroussi & Husam Rjoub & Wing-Keung Wong, 2020. "Sustainability of Green Tourism among International Tourists and Its Influence on the Achievement of Green Environment: Evidence from North Cyprus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    6. Mansour Alyahia & Alaa M. S. Azazz & Sameh Fayyad & Ibrahim A. Elshaer & Abuelkassem A. A. Mohammad, 2024. "Greenwashing Behavior in Hotels Industry: The Role of Green Transparency and Green Authenticity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Alessia Acampora & Michele Preziosi & Maria Claudia Lucchetti & Roberto Merli, 2022. "The Role of Hotel Environmental Communication and Guests’ Environmental Concern in Determining Guests’ Behavioral Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    8. Ruiqi Chang & Razib Chandra Chanda & Ali Vafaei-Zadeh & Haniruzila Hanifah & Anderes Gui, 2024. "Assessing Green Practices on Eco-Friendly Hotel Customer Loyalty: A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling and Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis Hybrid Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-25, May.
    9. Muhammad N. Abdul-Rahman & Thowayeb H. Hassan & Ahmed H. Abdou & Mostafa A. Abdelmoaty & Mahmoud I. Saleh & Amany E. Salem, 2023. "Responding to Tourists’ Intentions to Revisit Medical Destinations in the Post-COVID-19 Era through the Promotion of Their Clinical Trust and Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    10. Kevin Fuchs & Pornpisanu Promsivapallop & Fu Jing, 2023. "Factors influencing tourism students’ intentions towards environmental sustainability," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(11), pages 1724-1730, June.
    11. Jiawei Li & J. Andres Coca‐Stefaniak & Thi Hong Hai Nguyen & Alastair M. Morrison, 2024. "Sustainable tourist behavior: A systematic literature review and research agenda," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 3356-3374, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Soad Abokhamis Mousavi, 2022. "Sustainable Hotel Building Local Assessment Model: A Case of Northern Cyprus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Sana Alashiq & Hasan Yousef Aljuhmani, 2025. "From Sustainable Tourism to Social Engagement: A Value-Belief-Norm Approach to the Roles of Environmental Knowledge, Eco-Destination Image, and Biospheric Value," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-28, May.
    3. Saarijärvi, Hannu & Mitronen, Lasse & Yrjölä, Mika, 2014. "From selling to supporting – Leveraging mobile services in the context of food retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 26-36.
    4. Polo, Yolanda & Sese, F. Javier & Verhoef, Peter C., 2011. "The Effect of Pricing and Advertising on Customer Retention in a Liberalizing Market," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 201-214.
    5. Pieper, Nadine & Woisetschläger, David M., 2024. "Customer misbehavior in access-based mobility services: An examination of prevention strategies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    6. Katharina Klein & Luis F. Martinez, 2023. "The impact of anthropomorphism on customer satisfaction in chatbot commerce: an experimental study in the food sector," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 2789-2825, December.
    7. Rouxelle de Villiers & Linda Coleman, 2017. "Building Internal Competencies Capabilities and Capacity to Deliver Great Customer Experiences," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 16(2), pages 167-169, December.
    8. Baxendale, Shane & Macdonald, Emma K. & Wilson, Hugh N., 2015. "The Impact of Different Touchpoints on Brand Consideration," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 235-253.
    9. Jonmenjoy Barman & Somenath Halder & Jayanta Das & Syed Sadath Ali & Fahdah Falah Ben Hasher & Rukhsana & Mohamed Zhran, 2024. "Sustainable Ecotourism Suitability Assessment Using the Intergraded TOPSIS Model in the State of Mizoram, India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-31, December.
    10. Paul MUKUCHA & Divaries Cosmas JARAVAZA & Forbes MAKUDZA, 2022. "Towards Gender-Based Market Segmentation: The Differential Influence of Gender on Dining Experiences in the University Cafeteria Industry," Management and Economics Review, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 7(2), pages 182-200, June.
    11. Shengliang Zhang & Chaoying Huang & Xiaodong Li & Ai Ren, 2022. "Understanding Impacts of Service Robots with the Revised Gap Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, February.
    12. Shiwei Shen & Marios Sotiriadis & Qing Zhou, 2020. "Could Smart Tourists Be Sustainable and Responsible as Well? The Contribution of Social Networking Sites to Improving Their Sustainable and Responsible Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-21, February.
    13. Martina Arsić & Aleksandra Vujko & Miroslav Knežević, 2024. "Development Perspectives on Wellness and Spa Tourism in the Context of Tourism Business Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-20, October.
    14. Maggioni, Isabella & Sands, Sean & Kachouie, Reza & Tsarenko, Yelena, 2019. "Shopping for well-being: The role of consumer decision-making styles," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 21-32.
    15. Gasparin, Isadora & Panina, Ekaterina & Becker, Larissa & Yrjölä, Mika & Jaakkola, Elina & Pizzutti, Cristiane, 2022. "Challenging the "integration imperative": A customer perspective on omnichannel journeys," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Gilboa, Shaked & Mitchell, Vince, 2020. "The role of culture and purchasing power parity in shaping mall-shoppers’ profiles," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    17. Rouxelle de Villiers, 2017. "Experiences that Make Consumers Think: Cognitive Experiences," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 16(2), pages 177-179, December.
    18. Muhammad Junaid Ahsan & Muhammad Ishtiaq Ishaq & Ali Raza & Qurat‐ul‐ain Talpur, 2024. "Let leaders permit nature! Role of employee engagement, environmental values, and sustainable behavioral intentions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 7905-7921, December.
    19. Pipatpong Fakfare & Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil, 2023. "Low‐carbon tourism for island destinations: A crucial alternative for sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 180-197, February.
    20. Jorge Julião & Inês Monteiro & Marcelo Gaspar & Maria Alice Trindade, 2025. "Stakeholder Differences in Valued Hotel Green Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-18, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:12:p:5525-:d:1679903. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.