The Role of Millennial Tourists in Promoting Responsible Tourism: A Case in Singapore

Abstract

The tourism industry has emerged as one of the main contributors of gross domestic product (GDP) in many countries, including Singapore. Though the direct benefits associated with the growth of tourism industry is promising, the social-culturally and environmental problems that arisen simultaneously must not be overlooked. This paper presents five hypotheses for understanding the inter-relationship between millennial tourists’ evaluation on tourism experience, their attitude towards the tourism experience, attitude towards the destination as well as their responsible tourism intention by using the consumption value theory, the halo effects and the theory of planned behavior as guiding frameworks. The paper proposes that the perceived value of millennial tourists is made up of six distinctive dimensions, which will have a positive effect on their attitude towards the tourism experience. Their positive attitude arisen from tourism experience will, then, affect their attitude towards the destination and thus their intention to engage in responsible tourism behavior. This paper offers opportunities to refine concepts and build on existing theories.