Understanding the Tourists’ Perspective of Sustainability in Cultural Tourist Destinations

Begüm Aydın and Maria D. Alvarez
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Begüm Aydın: Institute of Environmental Sciences, Boğaziçi University, Hisar Kampüs, Bebek, 34342 Istanbul, Turkey
Maria D. Alvarez: Department of Tourism Administration, Boğaziçi University, Hisar Kampüs, Bebek, 34342 Istanbul, Turkey

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: Considering the tourists’ viewpoint when creating a sustainable destination is crucial since marketing may be the driving force behind many sustainability initiatives. However, most of the literature has followed a supply-based perspective, ignoring the way that tourists view sustainability attributes. Therefore, this research attempts to address this gap in the literature by analyzing tourists’ perceptions concerning sustainability attributes in tourist destinations. This research aims to determine which of these traits are seen as most important by the tourists and to ascertain their willingness to pay for these aspects. The study is quantitative, based on an online questionnaire administered to Turkish cultural tourists. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are used to obtain insights into how tourists consider sustainability aspects in tourist destinations. Thus, this research concludes that tourists view sustainability from a more varied perspective than that embraced by the classic definition of the concept, which comprises economic, environmental and socio-cultural dimensions. The findings of the study also determine that tourists favor sustainability attributes that are instrumental in enhancing their own tourist experiences. This information may be useful for destinations, providing guidance about how to market sustainable tourist destinations and encourage responsible tourism choices.

Keywords: sustainable destination; sustainability attributes; importance given to sustainability; willingness to pay for sustainability; marketing sustainability; tourist perspective; cultural tourist destination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:21:p:8846-:d:434297

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