What does this research mean for the field?

Distal sustainability goals elicit lower tourist engagement than proximal goals due to reduced perceived immediacy, but this negative effect can be mitigated through local framing and the communication of progress. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how sustainability goal time frames influence tourist engagement and identify communication strategies that bridge the gap between long-term targets and immediate consumer action.

September 5, 2026Journal of Travel ResearchOpen Access

The Temporal Paradox of Sustainability: How Goal Time Frames, Immediacy, and Contextual Cues Motivate Tourist Engagement

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Authors

MBM.S. BalajiMIT University ASAditi Sarkar SenguptaTallinn University of Technology TVTunyaporn VichiengiorÉcole Supérieure de Commerce de Rennes

Discussion

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Overview

Multi-study investigation reveals lower engagement with distal sustainability goals in tourists, indicating that local framing and progress cues restore perceived immediacy.

Key Points

To examine how sustainability goal time frames influence tourist engagement and identify communication strategies that bridge the gap between long-term targets and immediate consumer action.
Conducted a series of nine behavioral studies grounded in temporal motivation theory.
Evaluated tourist engagement across attitudinal measures, sustainable provider choice, and willingness to pay a premium.
Tested perceived immediacy as an underlying mechanism alongside boundary conditions of local framing and progress communication.
Distal sustainability goals consistently elicited lower engagement than proximal goals across attitudes, provider selection, and price premium willingness.
Reduced perceived immediacy significantly explained the drop in engagement associated with long-term distal time horizons.
Contextual interventions using local framing and explicit communication of ongoing progress mitigated the temporal paradox by restoring immediacy.

Cite This Study

Balaji et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd4046b95aff0620eb5c6 https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875261484167

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September 5, 2026Journal of Travel ResearchOpen Access

The Temporal Paradox of Sustainability: How Goal Time Frames, Immediacy, and Contextual Cues Motivate Tourist Engagement

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

MBM.S. BalajiMIT University ASAditi Sarkar SenguptaTallinn University of Technology TVTunyaporn VichiengiorÉcole Supérieure de Commerce de Rennes

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Multi-study investigation reveals lower engagement with distal sustainability goals in tourists, indicating that local framing and progress cues restore perceived immediacy.

Key Points

To examine how sustainability goal time frames influence tourist engagement and identify communication strategies that bridge the gap between long-term targets and immediate consumer action.
Conducted a series of nine behavioral studies grounded in temporal motivation theory.
Evaluated tourist engagement across attitudinal measures, sustainable provider choice, and willingness to pay a premium.
Tested perceived immediacy as an underlying mechanism alongside boundary conditions of local framing and progress communication.
Distal sustainability goals consistently elicited lower engagement than proximal goals across attitudes, provider selection, and price premium willingness.
Reduced perceived immediacy significantly explained the drop in engagement associated with long-term distal time horizons.
Contextual interventions using local framing and explicit communication of ongoing progress mitigated the temporal paradox by restoring immediacy.

Cite This Study

Balaji et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd4046b95aff0620eb5c6 https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875261484167

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