Who Walks the Walk and Talks the Talk? Understanding What Influences Sustainability Behaviour in Business and Leisure Travellers

Dodds R., Holmes M. R.

Sustainability (Switzerland), vol.14, no.2, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 14 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.3390/su14020883
  • Journal Name: Sustainability (Switzerland)
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Aerospace Database, CAB Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Geobase, INSPEC, Metadex, Veterinary Science Database, Directory of Open Access Journals, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Keywords: sustainable travel, behaviour, pro-ecological behaviour, frugality, altruism, business travel
  • TED University Affiliated: No

Abstract

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.While there is considerable research into what drives tourists to travel sustainably, little has been done to examine business travellers and how they differ from leisure travellers. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by looking to understand these differences and what drives them. Specifically, this paper looked to understand the influence that demographics, travel characteristics, and everyday behaviour (pro-ecological actions, frugal consumption patterns, and altruistic behaviours) have on sustainable travel behaviour, and if these influences held true for both business and leisure travellers. To facilitate this investigation, a quantitative study of 869 Canadian travellers in March of 2020 was undertaken. This research found that demographics and travel characteristics to contribute to the prediction of sustainable travel behaviour, but the greatest prediction power came from everyday behaviour. Beyond confirming that everyday behaviour is still the greatest indicator of sustainable travel domestically or abroad, this research found that this influence does not change whether the travel is for business or leisure.