Promoting Sustainable Island Tourism Through Tourists’ Environmentally Responsible Behavior: Integrating VIP, VAB, and TPB

Yuhao Lin, Ji-Hwan Yoon () and Guangyu Xiao
Additional contact information
Yuhao Lin: College of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
Ji-Hwan Yoon: College of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
Guangyu Xiao: College of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-27

Abstract: With the increasing amount of attention paid to sustainable tourism, balancing tourism growth with ecosystem conservation has become critical. As one of the most concentrated forms of tourism, island tourism is subject to distinct ecological pressures, making the study of tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior (TERB) both urgent and necessary. However, research on TERB in island tourism remains limited. In this study, we investigated Jeju Island as a case study and, based on 575 valid responses, integrated the value–identity–personal norm (VIP), value–attitude–behavior (VAB), theory of planned behavior (TPB), and complexity theory models to explore the formation pathways of TERB systematically. Structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed that the core components of the VIP, VAB, and TPB models positively influence the development of TERB, while nationality emerged as a significant moderator. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) further revealed six causal configurations, highlighting the diverse and non-linear TERB pathways. These findings will serve as significant theoretical insights into TERB and provide practical strategies for utilizing ecotourism as a tool for sustainable island tourism development.

Keywords: island tourism; tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior; value–identity–personal norm model; value–attitude–behavior model; theory of planned behavior; complexity theory; fsQCA; Jeju island (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/4792/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/4792/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:4792-:d:1662537

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().