Sustainable Tourism in the EU: A Willingness Index Based on Behavioural Intentions

Conceição Castro; Teresa Dieguez

doi:10.25145/j.pasos.2027.25.003

Authors

Conceição Castro CEOS.PP, ISCAP, Polytechnic of Porto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1550-5867
Teresa Dieguez https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4886-1446

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2027.25.003

Keywords:

Sustainable tourism, Behavioural intentions, Willingness index, Sociodemographic factors, European Union

Abstract

This study examines the willingness of European Union (EU) citizens to adopt sustainable tourism behaviours, using data from Flash Eurobarometer 499. A Willingness for Sustainable Tourism Behaviour (WSTB) Index was developed from nine behavioural intentions through an exploratory factor analysis, providing a synthetic and comparable measure of individual readiness for sustainable travel. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were employed to assess variation across gender, age, occupation, community type, nationality, and travel frequency. Women, younger people, employees, and frequent travellers are more likely to adopt sustainable behaviours. EU member states were ranked according to the WSTB Index: Romania, Sweden, and Slovakia appear at the top, whilst Bulgaria, Malta, and Portugal record the lowest scores. The findings reveal considerable disparities amongst EU member states, indicating that specific policies aligned with each country's socio-demographic and cultural characteristics are required to encourage behaviour change and foster more harmonised sustainable tourism practices across Europe.

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Academic society: PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural
Publisher: Instituto Universitario de Investigación Social y Turismo. Universidad de La Laguna (España) - Instituto Universitario da Maia ISMAI (Portugal)

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