Designing for more environmentally friendly tourism

The environmental (un)sustainability of the tourism industry has been debated for many decades. This debate generated ample empirical evidence of the environmental damage caused by tourism-related human activity. It is underpinned, however, by a passive position: one of largely accepting the tourism...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of tourism research 2020-09, Vol.84, p.102933, Article 102933
Main Author: Dolnicar, Sara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Choice architecture
Design
Environmental sustainability
Experiment
Nudging
Social norm
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Summary:The environmental (un)sustainability of the tourism industry has been debated for many decades. This debate generated ample empirical evidence of the environmental damage caused by tourism-related human activity. It is underpinned, however, by a passive position: one of largely accepting the tourism industry as it is, and lamenting its negative consequences. An alternative, more active approach, is to deliberately design for environmental sustainability. This article provides examples of how the tourism industry can drive a reduction of environmental damage by actively designing brand-owned touchpoints in a way that entice tourists to behave more environmentally friendly. The article concludes with an overview of promising design approaches and a framework to guide the future design of more environmentally friendly tourism services. [Display omitted] •A range of social science theories postulate leverage points for changing behaviour.•Common leverage points are: beliefs, social norms, utility and choice architecture.•This article reviews prior work relating to these leverage points.•A conceptual framework is proposed.•A methodological process is put forward.
ISSN:0160-7383
1873-7722
DOI:10.1016/j.annals.2020.102933