Sustainable rural tourism: linking residents’ environmentally responsible behaviour to tourists’ green consumption

Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework, this research sought to examine tourists’ environmental concern and destination identification as mediating variables between residents’ environmentally responsible behaviour and tourists’ green consumption in Chinese rural tourism. A total of 275 participants were recruited, and structural equation modelling was conducted to test hypotheses. Findings indicate residents’ environmentally responsible behaviour has a positive relationship with tourists’ green consumption; environmental concern and destination identification mediated this relationship. Moreover, tourists’ destination identification was found to impact their environmental concerns significantly. The present study contributes to promoting the sustainable development of rural tourism.