The role of hedonism in ethical tourism

• Explores the role of hedonic emotion in ethical tourists’ consumption experiences.
• Adopts Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis for the first time in tourism.
• The role of hedonic emotion in influencing ethical choice is demonstrated.
• Explores the role of pleasure and freedom as affective drivers of tourism choice.

This paper investigates the role of emotion in the ethical choice processes of tourists. Specifically, it explores how hedonism is experienced and the links between hedonic experiences and intentions for future ethical behaviour. It adopts an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to examine the experience of emotion in self-defined ethical tourists’ consumption of places. The findings highlight that emotionally charged experiences are powerful motivators of consumers’ ethical choice. It identifies the role hedonism plays in rationalizing and reinforcing current and intended ethical behaviour. Finally, the paper discusses the importance of emotional experiences as a source of hedonic value in engaging individuals in consumption encounters.