Bridging the Intention–Behavior Gap in Hotel Guests’ Pro-Environmental Behavior

This study examines the relationships among hotel guests’ pro-environmental attitudes, behavioral intentions, implementation intentions, and pro-environmental behavior, while also investigating the moderating roles of environmental knowledge and situational context. Data were collected through a self-administered survey of 204 domestic Korean tourists who had stayed at hotels or resorts in Gangwon State, South Korea, and analyzed using SPSS 27, PROCESS Macro Model 4, and hierarchical regression analysis. The results showed that implementation intention was positively associated with pro-environmental behavior and partially mediated the relationships of attitude and behavioral intention with behavior. Environmental knowledge strengthened the relationship between attitude and implementation intention but did not moderate the relationship between behavioral intention and implementation intention. Situational context had no significant moderating effect. These findings identify implementation intention as an important indirect mechanism associated with hotel guests’ pro-environmental behavior. Practically, hotels should provide situation-specific action prompts, clear recycling instructions, towel and linen reuse options, and accessible energy- and water-saving facilities to facilitate guests’ pro-environmental practices.