Explore the World Responsibly: The Antecedents of Ethical Tourism Behaviors in China

Ying Teng, Zhenzhong Ma and Lei Jing
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Ying Teng: School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Zhenzhong Ma: School of Business, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing 211815, China
Lei Jing: Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Marxism Studies, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: While ethical tourism is becoming more important in the tourist industry, relatively little is known about ethical tourism in China and what motivates Chinese tourists to undertake ethical tourism. This study examines this issue by adopting the planned behavior theory to explore the impact of Chinese tourists’ personal factors, positive social influence, image of destination and quality of services on their behavioral intentions in order to better understand what motivate Chinese tourists to participate ethical tourism. The results show that knowledge of ethical tourism, attitude toward ethical tourism, influences from family and friends, and local environment of the destinations are the key factors that drive Chinese tourists to undertake ethical tourism. In addition, service customization, service support and past experiences with ethical tourism are also important determinants of tourists’ satisfaction with ethical tourism, which further affects Chinese tourists’ intention to visit. Implications for ethical tourism marketing and management are then discussed with reference to how to promote more ethical tourism.

Keywords: ethical tourism; motivation; service customization; service quality; sustainable consumption; tourist destinations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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