Drivers of pro-environmental tourist behaviours are not universal

Tourists must behave in a more environmentally friendly way to reduce the negative environmental impact of the global tourism industry. Only a few approaches have been developed to promote this. This may be because it is generally assumed that all kinds of environmentally sustainable behaviour have the same drivers. This study challenges this assumption. Results of this research indicate that specific environmentally sustainable tourist behaviours have distinctly different drivers. Consequently, interventions designed to make tourists behave in a more environmentally friendly way need to be specific to the behaviour targeted for modification. Alternatively, choice architectures can be altered in an attempt to change behaviours without having to modify people's values or beliefs.