Ethical tourism: the role of emotion

Abstract

This chapter focuses on tourists’ ethical behaviour, offering an alternative view to the purely rational perspective of ethical choice by taking into account the role emotions play in the decision-making process. Many acknowledge the potential negative impacts of a growing tourism industry and, despite concerted efforts, a gap still exists with regard to our understanding of consumers’ ethical choice processes, as they often act in contradiction to their expressed ethical concerns. This chapter demonstrates the importance of emotional experiences, not only in motivating and reinforcing tourists’ ethical choices, but also as an integral part of the core consumption experience.