IDENTIFYING TOURISTS WITH SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOUR: A STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS TO THAILAND
Abstract
This study proposed a set of indicators and then measured sustainable behaviour patterns of international tourists to Thailand. A post-visit index based on 12 questions about self-reported practices was used to measure sustainable behaviour with respect to local economy, society and culture, and the environment. Associations between scores on the behavioural index and various other descriptors of tourists were explored using binary- logit regression. Sustainable behaviour was found to be associated with region where a tourist comes from, income level of the country where the tourist resides, profession, duration of stay in the host country, nature of tourist attraction, and whether or not visitors were part of a group tour. Practical policy measures for attracting tourists with more sustainable behaviour as well as modifying those with low sustainability are proposed.References
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[3] Budeanu, A. 2007. Sustainable Tourist Behaviour - Discussion of Opportunities for Change. International Journal of Consumer Studies 31: 499-508.
[4] Carr, N. A. 2002. Comparative Analysis of the Behaviour of Domestic and International Young Tourists. Tourism Management 23: 321-25.
[5] Debbage, K.G. 1991. Spatial Behaviour in a Bahamian Resort.Annals of Tourism Research 18, no. 2: 251-68.
[6] Dinan, C., and Sargeant, A. 2000. Social Marketing and Sustainable Tourism: Is There a Match?" International Journal of Tourism Research 2: 1-14.
[7] Dolnicar, S. 2010.Identifying Tourists with Smaller Environmental Footprints. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 18, no. 6: 717-34.
[8] Dolnicar, S., Crouch, G.I., and Long, P. 2008. Environmental-Friendly Tourists: What Do We Really Know About Them? Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16, no. 2: 197-210.
[9] Espelt, N.G., and Benito, J.A.D. 2006.Visitors' Behaviour in Heritage Cities: The Case of Girona. Journal of Travel Research 44: 442448.
[10] Inbakaran, R., and Jackson, M. 2005. Marketing Regional Tourism: How Better to Target and Address Community Attitudes to Tourism." Journal of Vacation Marketing 11, no. 4: 323-39.
[11] Laesser, C., and Crouch, G.I. 2006. Segmenting Markets by Travel Expenditure Patterns: The Case of International Visitors to Australia." Journal of Travel Research 44: 397-406.
[12] Lee, Jin-Soo, Li-Tzang Hsu, Heesup Han, and Yunhi Kim. 2010. Understanding How Consumers View Green Hotels: How a Hotel’s Green Image Can Influence Behavioural Intentions." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 18, no. 7: 901-14.
[13] Manaktola, K., and Jauhar, V. 2007. Exploring Consumer Attitude and Behaviour towards Green Practices in the Lodging Industry in India." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 19, no. 5: 364-77.
[14] Marion, J.L., and Reid, S. E. 2007. Minimising Visitor Impacts to Protected Areas: The Efficacy of Low Impact Education Programmes." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 15, no. 1: 5-27.
[15] McKercher, B. 2003.Sustainable Tourism Development-Guiding Principles for Planning and Management. Paper presented at the National Seminar on Sustainable Tourism Development, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, November 5-9, 2003
[16] McKercher, B., Weber, K., and du Cros, H. 2008. Rationalising Inappropriate Behaviour at Contested Sites. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16, no. 4: 369-85.
[17] McKercher, B., Weber, K., and du Cros, H. 2008. "Rationalising Inappropriate Behaviour at Contested Sites." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16, no. 4: 369-85.
[18] Nimrod, G. 2008. Retirement and Tourism: Themes in Retirees' Narratives.Annals of Tourism Research 35, no. 4: 859-78.
[19] Powell, R.B., and Ham, S.H. 2008. Can Ecotourism Interpretation Really Lead to Pro-Conservation Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour? Evidence from the Galapagos Islands. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16, no. 4: 467-89.
[20] Ryan, C., and Huyton, J. 2000. Who Is Interested in Aboriginal Tourism in the Northern Territory, Australia? A Cluster Analysis. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 8, no. 1: 53-88.
[21] Shamsub, H. 2010.Enhancing Sustainable Tourism in Thailand: A Policy Perspective. Edited by Louis Lebel, Sylvia Lorek and Rajesh Daniel, Sustainable Production Consumption Systems. New York: Springer.
[22] Skourtis, G., Andreou, D., Koniordos, M., and Assiouras, I. 2010. Push Travel Motivations of Japanese and Chinese Travellers to Greece. Spetses, Greece: School of Management and Economy, Department of Tourism Management
[23] Stanford, D. 2008. Exceptional Visitors': Dimensions of Tourist Responsibility in the Context of New Zealand. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16, no. 3: 258-75.
[24] Trisuwan, A. 2010Study of Thai Tourists’ Characteristics in Traveling to Korea. Veridian E – Journal 3, no. 1: 232.
[25] World Bank. 1992. World Development Report: Development and the Environment. New York: Oxford University Press
Published
2016-11-11
How to Cite
SHAMSUB, Hannarong; LEBEL, Louis.
IDENTIFYING TOURISTS WITH SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOUR: A STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS TO THAILAND.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 3, n. 1, p. 26-40, nov. 2016.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/380>. Date accessed: 09 may 2025.
Section
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism
Keywords
sustainable tourism; tourist behaviour indicators; measuring sustainable tourist behaviour; Thailand; visitor behaviour
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2025. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.