Sustainable Tourism and Facilities Preferences: The Sustainable Tourist Stay Scale (STSS) Validation

Alessandra Fermani,Maria Rita Sergi,Isabella Crespi,Laura Picconi,Aristide Saggino,Angelo Carrieri

doi:10.3390/su12229767

Alessandra Fermani, Maria Rita Sergi + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229767

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Abstract

This study aims to start the development of the Sustainable Tourist Stay Scale (STSS), a self-report instrument designed to measure tourists’ preferences regarding the degree to which they accept accommodation and programs in tourism facilities with sustainable characteristics. The research involved a total sample of 621 participants aged 18 to 74 (m = 41.75%; f = 58.25%). According to the literature and the available data, we considered the possibility that young people (millennials) and adults within the same sample may show peculiarities concerning the sustainability issues. We carried out three subsequent analyses: (1) an explorative factor analysis; (2) a confirmatory factor analysis via structural equation modelling; (3) the test of the structural invariance between young people and adults. The results supported a three-factor scale solution and they are discussed with reference to their potential practical applications to better understanding the preference for a sustainable stay.

Highlights

The tourism industry has experienced rapid growth in the past four decades, and this trend is expected to continue in the first half of the new millennium despite setbacks generated due to regional conflicts, global safety issues due to terrorist activities, or the dramatic health situation caused by COVID-19
Based on the literature and the above gap, this study aims to address this gap in current research on sustainable accommodation by developing the Sustainable Tourist Stay Scale (STSS), a self-report instrument designed to measure tourists’ perceptions regarding the extent to which they prefer accommodation in tourism based on sustainable characteristics
In order to assess the preference of sustainable hospitality in tourism, we have developed a short questionnaire as an adaptation of a survey conducted in 2012 from Ces

Summary

Introduction

The tourism industry has experienced rapid growth in the past four decades, and this trend is expected to continue in the first half of the new millennium despite setbacks generated due to regional conflicts, global safety issues due to terrorist activities, or the dramatic health situation caused by COVID-19. The world pays a considerable price for this, the tourism industry has an unrepeatable opportunity to re-develop in line with the tenets of sustainability and to avoid various negative effects of its growth such as environmental degradation, economic exploitation, or overcrowding [2]. The COVID-19 crisis has implemented the demand for environments and accommodation facilities that have led to sustainability being an important factor in a company’s vision and mission [2,3]. The Handbook of scales in tourism hospitality research is important for those studying tourism [4]. It contains over 200 scales that are used in some form and content by the researchers in hospitality and tourism. In the Handbook of scales in tourism hospitality research, we have not found a specific scale for the construct that we intend to investigate

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