1. Introduction
For several decades, consumers are increasingly aware of the effects of human activity on the environment and the people inhabiting it. To cater to these green and socially responsible consumers, companies within all industries increasingly market their products and services as sustainable and socially responsible. The tourism and hospitality industries are no exception. Sustainable hotels, for instance, are no longer a market niche, as most hotels highlight environmentally and socially responsible practices in their communication material, and the same obtains in the destination level. In this context, many researchers have focused on how to enhance sustainability in a wide range of tourism settings, from wine tourism [
1] to cruise excursions [
2].
Although it may be argued that purely market-led sustainability might be an incentive for greenwashing [
3], the logic of the market dictates that products not aligned with consumers’ wants and needs – and managers’ willingness to invest in them – are not viable. Therefore, as argued by Font and Mccabe [
4], sustainable destinations and services need the support of consumers, who must be convinced to choose responsible products rather than their non-responsible counterparts. In other words, to be truly sustainable, tourism destinations must be competitive [
5], a connection corroborated by recent studies that examine tourism sustainability from the supply [
6,
7] and demand [
8] sides. In this context, achieving sustainability goals within tourism destinations necessarily involves effectively affecting tourists’ behaviors. Moreover, as most sustainable practices lead to additional costs [
9], and tourists’ decisions tend to be price sensitive [
10,
11], achieving such goals also involves understanding how much tourists are willing to pay extra for sustainable practices, and as well as the antecedents of such willingness to pay (WTP).
Considering the addressed context, the present work aims to advance knowledge on the antecedents of WTP for Sustainable Destinations (WTP-4-SD). To this end, the investigation builds on the contributions of previous studies employing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) to understand which personal beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, consumption habits, and travel considerations are associated with a higher WTP-4-SD. Upon a thorough literature review, a theoretical model was proposed including five predictors of WTP-4-SD: Environmental Beliefs, Ecotourism Attitudes, Climate-Change-Related Risk Perceptions (CC-RRP), Environmental Concern During Trip (ECDT) and Sustainable Consumption Behavior (SCB).
To submit the model to empirical scrutiny, data was collected, via an online survey, from a convenience sample of 1,545 Spanish and Portuguese travelers. The questionnaire measured WTP-4-SD and each of its predictors through sets of items based on previous studies, which were operationalized though 7-point Likert type scales. The data were subsequently subjected, first to Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), then, to Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) through Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), following Anderson and Gerbing’s [
12] two-step approach.
The findings suggest that Environmental Beliefs, Ecotourism Attitudes, and CC-RRP act as a single factor, which was called “No Planet-B Attitudes”, representing a new paradigmatic view of the world, which reflects contemporary beliefs and values regarding science on the climate crisis, tourism and the man-nature relationship. This set of attitudes, in turn, is the main driver of WTP-4-SD. The findings also support the effect of all the other tested predictors, as well as the hypothesized relationships among some of them. The results generate useful insights for sustainable tourism product design and communication, which must be fine-tuned to potential tourists with high No Planet-B Attitudes.
5. Discussion
The present study aimed to advance knowledge on the antecedents of WTP-4-SD. Upon a thorough literature review on the topic, five potential predictors of WTP-4-SD were selected: Environmental Beliefs, Ecotourism Attitudes, CC-RRP, SCB, and ECDT. On the one hand, the findings do support the hypotheses regarding the effect of each of those constructs on WTP-4-SD, which corroborates and expands on the contributions of many previous studies. On the other hand, they suggest that in the observed context, Environmental Beliefs, Ecotourism Attitudes, and CC-RRP can be seen as indicators of a unique and consistent view upon of world, which in this work is called “No Planet-B Attitudes”.
Perhaps this can be seen as indicative of a new paradigm, or at least, the current evolutionary stage of a paradigm that starts dates back to the NEP. According to Kuhn [
144], a paradigm is a group’s way of looking at the world, which encompasses its’ whole set of beliefs and values. The data suggest that, in the 2020’s, people who believe that the earth’s balance is fragile, that there are limits to economic growth, and that excessive human intervention leads to catastrophe – the outlook described by Dunlap and Van Liere’s [
63] NEP –, also tend to think that sustainable tourism has a role to play in nature conservation and in generating liquid benefits for local populations – that is, they have favorable Ecotourism Attitudes –, and that the climate crisis represents a real threat to which world leaders should canalize their efforts – that is, they have high CC-RRP. Looking back at the past half century, this seems quite logic.
The NEP scale was proposed in the end of the 1970’s, in the beginning of the global shift to neo-liberal globalized economics, and reflected the new ideas brought about by the emergence of the global environmental social movement. Since then, climate change has become much more critical – as demonstrated by subsequent International Pannel for Climate Chage (IPCC) reports. Awareness of such phenomenon already existed in the 1970’s within the scientific community [
145] and even major oil companies [
146]. However, mainstream awareness grew significantly since the first IPCC reports, and especially after the rise of the new social environmental movement, from 2018, and general acknowledgement of the media, which for quite long, treated it as a matter of opinion, equivalating the position of scientists and deniers [
147].
In parallel, the massification of global tourism, another aspect of globalization, also took place during this period, and specially within the last three decades [
148]. Naturally, awareness of tourism’s impact on the planet and its people in terms of gentrification [
149], water pollution [
150], and more directly linked to the topic of climate change, carbon emissions [
151], have also increased and become a mainstream topic. Therefore, it is only logical that, in the 2020’s, the system of beliefs that includes those described in the NEP also include the acceptance of the scientific state of the art on anthropogenic climate change, and the role of tourism in this and other global issues. Naturally, the NEP has indeed been revised in 2000 [
152], but as discussed, the mainstream knowledge and acknowledgement of climate change has increased exponentially since then, and no Planet-B attitudes also reflect this world view in the context of tourists’ choices.
More than a mere correlation, the data show that these traits are indistinguishable in terms of the responses, and effectively all measure one single construct (No Planet-B Attitudes). That is, they represent a single, coherent way of looking at the world, or a paradigm. Naturally, this is not an exhaustive list of traits within this paradigm, but merely, an incomplete representation of how it can be observed in the context of sustainable tourism. Nor the present work is the first to point to this new paradigm. The contributions of many studies addressed in the literature review point to a more complex profile of travelers that tend to behave more sustainably in terms of their travel decisions. This complex profile encompasses the variables included in the tested model, but also traits whose nature was not covered by the present study, such as materialist values [
20] and admiration towards the wealthy [
21] – both shown to be negatively related to sustainable tourist choices –, collectivist and materialist values – shown to be positively [
79] and negatively [
80] associated with environmental beliefs, respectively –, and egoistic social-altruistic, and biospheric value orientations – shown to be positively associated with environmental concern, which in turn affect WTP-4-SD [
68]. Considering this role of values on tourists’ environmental concern and sustainable choices, exploring the role of collectivism and other values on WTP-4-SD, potentially as part of No Planet B Attitudes, is a fertile avenue for future studies.
In the same vein, other sociopsychological traits might be included in No Planet-B attitudes, such as political views – as they are closely related to personal values [
153] –, attitudes towards corporations’ social and environmental accountability and government regulation – also shown to be related to personal values [
154] –, etc. Accordingly, personality traits, such as agreeableness and openness, which have been associated with environmental concern [
67], should be considered. Some of these might be part of No Planet-B Attitudes per se (i.e., they would also be together in the same factor within EFA and CFA procedures), while some might be correlated or even predict it. Looking into which other traits might be part of or influence No Planet-B Attitudes, as well as how they affect tourist’s sustainable choices and behaviors is also a fertile path for future research.
Considering some of the study’s specific hypotheses, the support for the effect of SCB on WTP-4-SD corroborates previous findings regarding the role of habitual behavior as a driver for tourists’ sustainable consumption [
61], as well as those about a certain degree of consistency in consumers’ sustainable behavior across different sectors [
62]. The support for the role of Environmental beliefs on WTP-4-SD corroborates findings on NEP values’ positive association with tourists’ pro-environmental decision-making process [
84], environmentally responsible behavior [
85], support for accreditation systems [
86], and more responsible forms of travel [
87]. The confirmation of Ecotourism attitudes’ role on WTP-4-SD expands on previous findings regarding their importance for willing to pay a premium price for ecotourism products [
90,
108] and tourists’ preferences for sustainable tourism development in Small Island Developing States [
109]. Finally, the support for the connection between CC-RRP and WTP-4-SD reinforces the findings of several studies indicating that belief in anthropogenic changes to global climate leads to a bigger inclination to spending more to mitigate them [
114,
115,
116].
In sum, considering that no single factor can totally explain WTP-4-SD [
28], the present study advances the understanding of the factors that play a role in it, suggesting that some of them tend to act together as a single construct.
6. Conclusion
By shedding light on the antecedents of WTP-4-SD, the present study provides some useful insights for tourism destination (and business) marketeers. The implications include the necessity to fine tune messages to a receiver who has high No Planet-B Attitudes, as described earlier. A promotional destination video, for instance, should highlight the destinations’ effort to maintain (or preferably regenerate) its ecological balance – and thus appeal to viewers’ environmental beliefs – and highlight the role of tourism in this goal. When relevant, education about the role of local tourism activity in contributing to tackle (or at least not worsening) the climate crisis is also desirable, especially for destinations based on or connected to natural resources particularly relevant to this context, such as the Amazon Forest, the Great Barrier Rief, or glaciers.
Additionally, the present study’s insights must be considered jointly with those from previous investigations. This includes, for instance, Aydın and Alvarez’s [
22] conclusion, corroborated by de Araújo et. al. [
23], regarding tourists’ tendency to be more willing to pay for sustainable practices that do enhance their experiences. In this context, sustainable tourism marketing should seek to associate sustainability performance and high-quality experiences. Moreover, efforts should be made to educate tourists about the less explicit role of certain sustainable practices normally not directly associated with the quality of tourists’ experiences, such as good wages, benefits, and working conditions in the hospitality industry. The implications are not restricted, however, to communication. These same considerations should be taken when designing sustainable tourism products, which as argued by Dolnicar (2020), and reinforced by this study’s findings, should leverage on tourists’ beliefs.
The findings should also be considered with caution. Just like, there are attitude-behavior gaps regarding sustainable consumption [
43], including in the tourism industry [
51,
52,
53], there must also be a gap between self-reported WTP and actual WTP. Nevertheless, understanding which attitudes and behaviors are associated with even agreeing that it is acceptable to pay a premium price for tourism destinations that employ sustainable practices generate valuable insights for sustainable tourism product design and communication. Moreover, there is reason to believe that the limitations of self-reported WTP are not as big as one may initially think. In Araújo, et. al. [
23], while respondents tended to rate the importance of various sustainability practices undistinguishably high, WTP for the same set of practices showed some clear patterns, which seems to indicate some level of honesty and thoughtfulness in the responses. Moreover, being able to better communicate sustainability-related benefits to tourists willing to pay a premium price for them does not make other approaches to enforcing sustainable practices less relevant. Market-led sustainability is important but also has its risks and limitations, including leading to greenwashing [
3]. If the tourism industry is to fulfil its role in the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), every tool available must be used, including, naturally, the promotion of the desired behavior as social norms [
53], regulations, nudging [
89], and eventually, even degrowth [
57].
Despite its contributions, the present study also has its shortcomings. First, its cross-sectional nature limits the generalizability of its results, and such limitation is exacerbated by its convenience sampling method. Therefore, future studies are necessary to verify whether No Planet-B Attitudes also behave as a single construct in populations other than Iberian tourists. Moreover, as discussed above, despite the presented reasons to mitigate this preoccupation, self-report research also has its inherent limitations. In this context, future studies should seek to verify the suggestions that the present investigation allows to emerge based on observational data. Finally, as discussed, No Planet-B Attitudes seem to be a photograph of the current zeigieist. In this context, longitudinal studies are also desirable to verify how those views, and their effect on WTP-4-SD, may change over time.