{"id":12382,"date":"2024-08-23T14:35:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T06:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/?p=12382"},"modified":"2024-08-30T08:33:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T00:33:03","slug":"research-highlights-gap-between-tourists-awareness-of-travel-sustainability-issues-and-personal-action-on-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/research-highlights-gap-between-tourists-awareness-of-travel-sustainability-issues-and-personal-action-on-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Research highlights gap between tourists\u2019 awareness of travel sustainability issues and personal action on them"},"content":{"rendered":"\u4e2d\u6587\u6458\u8981 \/ Summary in Chinese<\/span>\n\n\n\n
A study by a team involving UTM researchers points out that while institutional efforts have raised awareness of sustainability in tourism, many tourists as individual consumers lack a sense of having any personal responsibility to act. The research identified four types of tourist in terms of sustainability responsibility, with the paper calling for tailored strategies to promote responsible tourism practices<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new study involving two researchers from UTM reveals that efforts by various governments and the United Nations to promote public education on tourism sustainability have \u201cyielded significant results.\u201d However, the researchers also noted that \u201clow to moderate levels of perceived self-responsibility\u201d indicate that tourists still \u201cdo not fully understand\u201d what is required of them to ensure sustainable tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study highlighted that while many tourists express \u201ca preference for sustainability in principle,\u201d they don\u2019t \u201cfeel compelled to implement it.\u201d This \u201clack of accountability,\u201d the authors argued, underscored the need for targeted information and educational initiatives that not only inform, but also motivate tourists to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study was conducted by Dr. Cindia Lam Ching Chi, Dean of UTM\u2019s Institute of Executive and Professional Development, and UTM Lecturer Dr. Eliza Leong Si Kei. They were joined by Dr. Zhao Ying, an associate professor in the School of Tourism Management at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong Province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their findings were detailed in the academic paper \u201cIncorporating perceived responsibility on tourism sustainability in tourist typology through the knowledge gap theory\u201d, published earlier this year in the scholarly journal Smart Tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTourists across various typologies, demographics, and backgrounds recognise the importance of tourism sustainability,\u201d the researchers wrote. However, they added that the \u201clow to moderate levels of perceived self-responsibility suggest that while tourists are aware of the concepts, they do not fully understand the actions required.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors argued that promotional efforts for tourism sustainability must explicitly explain, and more precisely describe, the roles and specific actions of various stakeholders to achieve sustainable tourism. They suggested that \u201cwith limited resources and to avoid overwhelming tourists with information, efforts should concentrate on integrating educational content into the destination’s digital marketing materials before tourists arrive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promotional content should focus on the destructive effects of inappropriate actions by tourists: a form of \u2018negative reinforcement\u2019. Role models could be used to demonstrate sustainable practices that tourists could emulate, the paper suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the destination, what the researchers termed mascots \u201ccould effectively engage tourists and remind them of the sustainable practices they encountered online before their trip\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study employed mixed methods, beginning with a focus group, followed by a survey. Survey data were gathered from three cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area \u2013 namely Macao, Zhuhai, and Guangzhou \u2013 resulting in 864 valid questionnaires for final analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings suggested that although most tourists endorsed tourism sustainability indicators, \u201cthere was an obvious disparity in perceived self-responsibility across sample groups, particularly among those with a preference for digital information.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four distinct types of tourist were identified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Individual mass tourists\u2019 preferred well-developed destinations with familiar facilities and culture, tended to receive information digitally, and had a low perception of being personally responsible for tourism sustainability, showed the findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Socialisers\u2019 enjoyed associating with locals and seeking novelty, showed a preference for digital information, and had a moderate perception of being personally for responsible tourism sustainability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Learners\u2019 were inclined to participate in new experiences and challenges, were receptive to both digital and offline information, and possessed a moderate sense of personal responsibility on the sustainability topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, \u2018organised mass tourists\u2019 had the strongest perception of personal responsibility for tourism sustainability, accepted offline and digital information, and favoured guided tours, travel agencies, and accommodation linked to international hotel chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers recommended \u201ccustomising strategies to cater to various tourist demographics\u201d to cultivate \u201ca more responsible and sustainable approach to tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor: UTM Public Relations Team<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A study by a team involving UTM researchers points out that while institutional efforts have raised awareness of sustainability in tourism, many tourists as individual consumers lack a sense of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":12384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,136],"tags":[502,3209,1879,3208,400,2861,3210,38,3211,2859],"class_list":["post-12382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowledge","category-main_headline","tag-cindia-lam","tag-eliza-leong","tag-lam-ching-chi","tag-leong-si-kei","tag-macao","tag-macao-university-of-tourism","tag-public-education","tag-sustainability","tag-tourism-sustainability","tag-utm"],"views":6424,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12389,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12382\/revisions\/12389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}