Tourists’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) is crucial to advancing sustainable tourism. This study systematically reviews the evolution of PEB research to illuminate promising directions for future inquiry. Employing bibliometric science mapping, we analyze 528 articles to examine co-authorship networks, keyword trends, burst analyses, and thematic clusters. The findings identify three major tensions in current research—at the individual, organizational, and destination levels. To address these challenges, we recommend that future studies adopt multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks, harness technological innovations, and reinforce structural support systems to more effectively promote PEB within the tourism sector.
Ruan et al. (2026) studied this question.