The (Un)Sustainable Tourist Behaviour

Our Project

The (Un)Sustainable Tourist Behaviour project is a research initiative developed by scholars affiliated with Fluminense Federal University, UNIVALI, and leading Brazilian and international institutes, aiming to produce rigorous scientific knowledge and applied studies on tourist decision-making in real travel contexts.

Grounded in contemporary approaches from behavioural economics, consumer behaviour and tourism studies, the project is based on the understanding that sustainable and unsustainable behaviours do not stem solely from individual values or stated intentions. Instead, they emerge from the interaction among motivations, abilities, opportunities, and contextual stimuli, social norms, institutional arrangements, and technological mediation. Tourist behaviour is therefore analysed as part of an architecture of decisions, which becomes particularly salient in travel situations, where everyday routines are suspended, familiar norms are relativised, and choices are strongly shaped by the social, environmental and symbolic context of the experience.

Under these conditions, consumption does not occur in a vacuum. It is organised around occasions, social rituals and situational contexts that frame how individuals evaluate options and make decisions. Different travel settings — including destination characteristics, accommodation types, social dynamics and experience-related expectations — create distinct opportunities for (un)sustainable behaviour. Understanding sustainable consumption in tourism thus requires attention not only to tourists’ willingness to act, but also to their practical capabilities and the decision environments in which choices are made.

Current research activities take as their starting point the study of international tourists and hotel guests, recognising hospitality settings as privileged environments for observing the environmental, social, economic and operational impacts associated with (un)sustainable practices. These initial studies seek to identify recurring behaviours, critical profiles, costs and challenges faced by the sector, as well as to map influencing factors and strategies already adopted to encourage responsible conduct.

At the same time, the project has been conceived as a long-term research programme, with the potential to foster new investigations, expand empirical scopes and engage with different tourism segments, destinations and public policy agendas in the coming years. Scientific output in leading international journals and conferences is developed in parallel with the generation of technical outputs, actionable insights, strategic guidance and evidence-based recommendations for the tourism and hospitality sector.