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Fostering Sustainable Travel Behavior: Role of Sustainability Labels and Goal-Directed Behavior Regarding Touristic Services

Author

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  • Elfriede Penz

    (Department of Marketing, Institute for International Marketing Management, Vienna University of Business and Economics, Vienna 1020, Austria)

  • Eva Hofmann

    (Centre for Peace, Trust and Social Relations, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK,
    Competence Center for Empirical Research Methods, Vienna University of Business and Economics, Vienna 1020, Austria)

  • Barbara Hartl

    (Competence Center for Empirical Research Methods, Vienna University of Business and Economics, Vienna 1020, Austria
    Institute of Organization and Global Management Education, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz 4040, Austria, barbara.hartl_1@jku.at)

Abstract

Individuals around the globe engage in sustainable consumption in their everyday life, e.g., when it comes to individual transportation. Although tourism behavior contributes to global carbon emissions to a considerable extent, consumers’ awareness of sustainability in the tourism industry is still underresearched. Placing eco-labels next to tourist offers on websites might direct consumer’s perception towards more sustainable offers. By employing eye-tracking techniques and surveys, this research aimed at linking information about sustainable tourist offers, perception of eco-labels and subsequent perception and preferences of tourism services. In Study 1, eight existing hotel offers with sustainability certification (four different labels) were selected and their websites presented to 48 participants (four websites each), whose eye movements were tracked. After looking at each website, they rated the overall appearance of the website. Based on the results, in the second study, participants’ (n = 642) awareness of labels, their values and attitudes regarding sustainable behavior were found to influence their preference for certified tour operators. In addition, individuals’ ideas of their perfect holidays were captured to allow a better understanding of their motivation. This research proposes implementing appropriate sustainable labeling in the tourism industry to increase awareness about sustainability among travelers and subsequently increase sustainable travel behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Elfriede Penz & Eva Hofmann & Barbara Hartl, 2017. "Fostering Sustainable Travel Behavior: Role of Sustainability Labels and Goal-Directed Behavior Regarding Touristic Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:6:p:1056-:d:101856
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    6. 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.
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