How do tourism activities and induced awe affect tourists’ pro-environmental behavior?

Abstract

With environmental protection gaining traction, prompting tourists to undertake pro-environmental behavior via self-guidance (vs. compliance with rules) merits attention. This research explored how different tourism activities influence tourists' pro-environmental behaviors by arousing distinctive emotions and cognition. Six scenario-based experiments revealed that unthreatened awe and threatened awe can each promote such behaviors. Relaxing tourism activities promote pro-environmental behaviors by awakening a stronger sense of unthreatened awe and self-enhancement; challenging tourism activities foster these behaviors by invoking a greater sense of threatened awe and self-protection. In addition, when a tourist's sense of power is high, a relaxing tourism activity path plays a role: it positively influences pro-environmental behavior through unthreatened awe and self-enhancement. Conversely, when a tourist's sense of power is low, a challenging tourism activity path is pertinent: threatened awe and self-protection act as serial mediators. These findings provide theoretical insights for destination managers to improve locations' environments.