Pro-Environmental Behavior of Religious Tourists: Moderating Role of Religious Beliefs

Abstract

While providing economic benefits, tourism also contributes to environmental problems. Besides regulatory measures to mitigate tourism’s impact on the environment, voluntary changes in the behavior of tourists are needed to encourage environment-friendly behavior. This research examines religious tourists’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) by using the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and the concept of religious beliefs. Data were collected through on-site and online surveys of 391 tourists who visited religious destinations and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS)-structural equation modeling. The results confirmed the relationships between tourists’ values, beliefs, and personal norms that predicted PEB. This study also found that religious beliefs strengthen the effect of personal norms on PEB. This research contributes to improving the understanding of religious tourists’ PEB and offers suggestions for destination management organizations (DMOs), religious center authorities, and policymakers to encourage the PEB of tourists in religious destinations.