There has been increasing interest in coastal tourism, sparking a debate on the responsible environmental behavior of travelers visiting sustainable destinations. To mitigate this issue, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and environmental activists are trying to develop strategic approaches (i.e., by using digital technologies) to enhance the sustainable behavior of travelers. Environmental responsiveness and its impact on sustainable destinations is gaining attention by companies, scholars, and institutions. However, the relevant literature has not addressed social media user-generated content regarding sustainable destinations. Sharing stakeholder knowledge, activities, and experience on social media could accomplish this goal. Hence, this paper aims to explore travelers′ responsible environmental behavior towards coastal tourism within the social media user-generated content paradigm. To measure the effect of user-generated content (UGC), i.e., cognitive triggers and affective triggers, on the responsible environmental behavior of travelers, a survey questionnaire was used to collect data (n = 506) from the world’s longest sandy sea beach, Cox’s Bazar, located in the Southern part of Bangladesh. The data were examined by structural equation modeling (SEM). The results revealed that cognitive and affective triggers of user-generated content influence travelers’ environmental concerns and attitudes, making a significant contribution to shaping responsible environmental behavior. Additionally, the findings show that environmental concerns and attitudes play a significant role in producing commitment towards a sustainable coastal tourism practice. This study contributes to the effectiveness of user-generated content for persuasive interactions with destination marketing organizations to develop sustainable tourism practices.

The growth of technological revolutions and the subsequent acceptance of smart devices has increased the influence of sustainable marketing activities in the tourism industry. Due to the explosion of mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones, tablets) and social media adoption, consumers have been able to use these technologies at any time for destination marketing. However, understanding consumers’ sustainable marketing experiences from a destination perspective is a complex issue. At the moment, very few studies have focused on the effectiveness of smartphone-based social media in destination marketing. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to explore how consumers interpret and utilize smartphone-based social media for sustainable destination marketing. This study proposes an integrated framework that consists of the mobile technology acceptance model (MTAM) and the social media-based interaction, trendiness, and electronic-word-of-mouth (e-WoM). A questionnaire survey was used to collect data (n = 365), and valid data were analyzed by the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The findings revealed that interaction, trendiness, and e-WoM indirectly affected satisfaction through mobile usefulness and mobile ease of use. At the same time, mobile usefulness and mobile ease of use directly affected satisfaction, which then significantly influenced the intention to utilize those factors towards sustainable destination marketing. This study highlights the technological affordances and the satisfaction of smartphone-based social media in sustainable marketing. Furthermore, the results can be used in the resource allocation process to ensure the success of the vision and mission of sustainable destination marketing efforts.

When addressing the ever-increasing role that social media plays in generating a clear image of the travel destination chosen by tourists, the research and specialty literature tends to be rather limited. Despite an increase in social media-generated content, the process is not yet fully understood, although research suggests the importance of two different factors (i.e., tour-operator-generated content and user-generated content) in influencing destination image formation. In this regard, the present paper aims to examine the most significant factors currently affecting the potential behavior of travelers towards the selection of sustainable destinations. What is more, another purpose of this paper is to explore the effects that tour-operator-generated content and user-generated content have upon the formation of the overall mediating destination image through cognitive and affective destination images. For the current analysis, a structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used in order to test the conceptual model. Data from Shanghai, China (n = 425) were used. The results demonstrate and establish that travel information sources (i.e., tour-operator-generated content and user-generated content) have a positive effect on destination image formation. The analytical results also revealed that in order to select a sustainable destination, travelers are influenced by tour-operator-generated content, as well as by user-generated content, with the effect of the latter being more important and influential. Travelers’ use of social media content has played a key role in the formation of the overall destination image through the mediating effect of cognitive and affective destination images. This research thus provides valuable theoretical and practical implications for academics and practitioners alike, implications which are valuable for the fields of destination marketing and management. Furthermore, practitioners of the management of sustainable destinations can thus make use of the results throughout the entire decision-making process.

In the last few years, natural protected areas have been facing great challenges and degradation around the world. Among this, environmental sustainability has become a priority to create harmony between tourists and nature. Tourists visiting protected areas are becoming progressively more concerned regarding the environment. Moreover, the United Nations (UN) “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” have highlighted the potential role of young tourists to contribute to sustainable tourism. However, very few studies have focused on tourists’ environmentally sustainable behavior towards natural protected areas. To fill the existing gap in the literature, this study aims to provide a theoretical framework that includes environmental sustainability awareness (ESA) in measuring millennial tourists’ environmentally sustainable behavior (ESB). Thus, this study delivers an integrated approach based on the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and the concept of the new ecological paradigm (NEP) towards protected areas. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted from one of the protected areas located in the north of Sichuan province of China, and 511 responses were obtained for statistical analysis. Results of the structural statistical analysis showed that the unified model includes a satisfactory level of predictive power for tourists’ ESB, which was superior to existing theories and concepts. The findings also revealed that all proposed relationships of the variables were significant and identified the positive influence of environmental sustainability awareness in generating the ESB. This study contributes towards sustainable tourism development and the conservation of protected areas, with several practical implications for local authorities in terms of millennial participation.

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