Green-Induced tourist equity: the cross-level effect of regional environmental performance

Abstract

This study extends the customer equity paradigm to propose a green induced tourist equity model in the tourism context. Drawing on the attitude literature pertaining to subliminal persuasion and priming, we argue that the environment performance of the source market plays a pivotal role in inadvertently stimulate tourists to grave from a greener place to visit and hence, greater revisit desire for the destination. We develop a series of multilevel models to test individual-level direct effects leading from green equity to destination loyalty through value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity germane to a destination. We then tested the cross-level moderating effect emanating from source-market’s environmental performance to the proposed direct relationships. This study contributes to the literature by bridging the micro and macro perspective of sustainable tourism. It integrates both individual-level and source market regional-level factors into a multilevel framework to better assess how source-market environmental situations could unconsciously influence tourists greening perceptions and behaviors during their excursions. Applications of subliminal persuasion and priming in the current study also broaden the theoretical understanding of the role of attitude at an aggregate level, and they also help strengthen the linkage between regional environmental performance and tourists predispositions.

Keywords:

• Green equity
• tourist equity
• loyalty
• energy efficiency
• carbon emission
• subliminal persuasion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 72074230, 72004239), and Guangdong Provincial Department of Education (No. 2019GXJK052).

Notes on contributors

IpKin Anthony Wong

Dr. IpKin Anthony Wong is a professor of School of Tourism Management at the Sun Yet-Sen University, China. His current research interests include tourism and hospitality marketing, service quality management, international marketing, green marketing and tourism, and branding and destination image.

Wenjia Jasmine Ruan

Dr. Wenjia Jasmine Ruan is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Tourism Management at Sun Yat-sen University, China. Her research centers on sustainable tourism, tourism crisis and tourist behavior. She has published in Current Issues in Tourism.

Xiaomei Cai

Dr. Xiaomei Cai (Chutian Scholar Chair Professor) is a professor and associate dean at School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University. Her work mainly concentrates on an interdisciplinary perspective between mobility, tourist geography, development studies and hotel management. Her recent research focuses on the high-skilled migration and foreign expats in China.

GuoQiong Ivanka Huang

Dr. GuoQiong Ivanka Huang is a post-doctoral fellow at School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-Sen University. Her research interests are social media usage in tourism, digital marketing, and sustainable tourism/CSR.