Elevating green mindfulness in the tourism industry: individual vs. organizational implications in Vietnam

As the tourism industry continues to boom in emerging economies, environmental pressures intensify, affecting local communities. As such, it is essential to prioritize sustainable consumer behaviour. In the article by Pham and Le Phuong Giao (2026), the authors examine how green mindfulness can bridge consumers' pro-environmental intentions into consistent, actionable behaviour. The authors investigate how green mindfulness can mediate in emerging industry contexts and examine how individual versus organizational factors affect this role.Where mindfulness refers to an increased level of awareness and intention that encourages people to pay more attention, green mindfulness emphasizes environmental consequences and more eco-friendly practices as more prominent in a person's decision-making process, translating eco-values into deliberate and consistent choices. Within the context of consumer behaviour, this looks like the disruption of regular consumption patterns and greater reflection on the ecological consequences of purchase decisions. Green mindfulness is distinct from general mindfulness or environmental concerns because it translates eco-values directly into actions and long-term behaviour.Within the tourism industry, green mindfulness translates personal values into behaviors such as waste reduction, energy conservation, greener transport and supporting tourism locations and activities with reduced environmental impact. In the context of emerging tourism economies, this can manifest differently depending on a location's existing cultural and social dynamics. For example, tourists may choose to take local public transport instead of a taxi or only support ethical tourist activities, such as visiting elephant sanctuaries or swimming with whale sharks. Green mindfulness translates values and awareness into deliberate purchasing intentions, such as choosing eco-certified accommodation, sustainable travel and buying products with a more positive environmental impact.As green mindfulness serves as a bridge linking values, practices and context to sustainable consumer actions, the practice shifts depending on whether it occurs in an individual or organizational context. Contextual factors such as ecological social norms, eco-labelling and nature-integrated architecture and design also affect this relationship and enhance green-mindfulness choices. Cultural orientation, demographics such as age and education and characteristics of tourism activities in a given location all affect how strongly individuals and organizations connect contextual norms, mindfulness and more sustainable behaviour.Pham and Le Phuong Giao (2026) find that, at the individual level, green mindfulness is enhanced by personal values, environmental knowledge and ethical self-identification, leading to more responsible travel and the adoption of eco-friendly choices. They also note that spiritual well-being enhances a connection to environmental responsibility. However, they also found that habit strength negatively affects green mindfulness, reducing sustainable behaviour unless it is accompanied by mindfulness training or infrastructure.At the organizational level, the authors found that transformative green leadership, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and staff incentives foster a more mindful organizational culture, which influences consumer behaviour when engaging with the organization. In a tourism context, this can include accommodation, transport, or tourism-related firms. The firm's policies and leadership practices promote mindfulness and encourage tourists to engage more sustainably with local communities.In the Vietnamese context, Pham and Le Phuong Giao (2026) found that collectivist culture amplifies the effect of green mindfulness, as sustainable behaviors are seen as collective duties towards communities and the country. Cultural norms and social expectations within the community embed green mindfulness as a social norm rather than an individual choice. The mediating effect of green mindfulness is thus consistent across individual and organizational levels, shaped and enhanced by Vietnam's cultural values and community focus. The authors also found that younger tourists and those from other collectivist cultures are more focused on green mindfulness and sustainable travel. The authors suggest that, with mindfulness training, individuals can overcome the negative effects of habit strength and enhance individual and community engagement in sustainable tourism actions, thereby strengthening the mediating effect.The research put forward in the article offers several practical implications:Green mindfulness is crucial as tourism continues to grow worldwide and environmental pressures become clearer. In the article by Pham and Le Phuong Giao (2026), the authors examine how green mindfulness can be enhanced at the individual and organizational levels and how the tourism industry can reduce its environmental footprint from a tourist and tourism organization perspective.This review is based on “Sustainability under pressure: green mindfulness as a response to tourism's current challenges” by Van Kien Pham and Linh Le Phuong Giao, published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights.