An Investigation of Tourists' Patterns of Obligation to Protect the Environment

The environmental sustainability of the local tourism industry is increasingly a concern. Authors have proposed a demand-driven approach to sustainable destination management as complementary to traditional supply-side interventions. However, little empirical evidence supports the feasibility of such a demand-driven approach. This study contributes to this gap by investigating whether individuals who feel morally obliged to behave in an environmentally friendly manner represent useful target segments for destination management aiming to improve the ecological sustainability of the local tourism industry. Results indicate that distinctly different moral obligation segments exist that differ in pro-environmental behavior and attitudes. These segments are associated with distinctly different vacation preferences and can consequently be used by destination management for target marketing. Gaps between people's pro-environmental behavior at home and at the destination systematically differ across segments, leading to the conclusion that different combinations of demand and supply-side measures may be suitable to reduce the environmental footprint of different segments.