Feeling envious or disgusted? The contagious effect of tourist misbehaviour and the role of shared nationality

Given that tourist misbehaviour disturbs the well-being of tourist destinations, it is essential to understand what influences such behaviour. Leveraging the theory of the social contagion effect of behaviour, the current study expands existing knowledge of the phenomenon by incorporating observers’ emotional reactions and their moral disengagement after they witness other tourists’ misbehaviour. Additionally, the study explored whether shared nationality moderates the relationships among emotional reactions, moral disengagement, and subsequent behaviour. The results of this study suggest that feelings of envy contribute to the contagious impact of misbehaviour at a destination. Shared nationality with the misbehaving tourists strengthened the negative association between feelings of disgust and moral disengagement. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed along with suggestions for fruitful research on the contagious effect of tourist misbehaviour.