Tourism crowding and resident approach/avoidance reactions through sustainable tourism: moderating role of proenvironmental behavior

Purpose In line with the stimulus overload theory, this study seeks a comprehensive understanding of tourism crowding by examining residents’ perceived tourism crowding and their corresponding avoidance and approach reactions through sustainable tourism. In addition, the study aims to investigate whether residents’ proenvironmental behavior moderates’ tourism’s negative impacts on the local ecosystem, delving into its potential mitigating role. Design/methodology/approach Using purposive sampling, the authors engaged residents associated with government and nongovernment organizations, universities, colleges and schools, as well as individuals from the business sector encompassing hotels, restaurants and cafeterias, markets and dedicated social activists actively involved in community affairs. Findings The analysis, conducted on 920 questionnaires using structural equation modeling, demonstrates that tourism crowding exhibits a negative correlation with sustainable tourism and approach reactions but a positive correlation with avoidance reactions. Furthermore, the moderation analysis suggests that as residents’ proenvironmental behavior improves, the detrimental effect of tourism crowding on sustainable tourism diminishes. Practical implications The study presents numerous implications for policymakers and the tourism industry, emphasizing the need to comprehend residents’ perceptions of tourism crowding and sustainable tourism. It underscores the importance of engaging residents in the tourism process to achieve sustainability goals. Originality/value The novel theoretical contribution lies in applying the stimulus overload theory to examine tourism crowding and sustainable tourism, specifically from the residents’ perspectives.