Social identity positively impacts sustainable behaviors of backpackers

Abstract

While backpacker social identity remains an important theme among tourism researchers, its influence on sustainable behaviors has received limited attention. We examine the impact of backpacker social identity on sustainable behavior based on both a structural modeling approach and regression analysis. A survey of 400 backpackers is conducted within Cape Coast, a major tourism hub in Ghana, West Africa. Supporting seven out of eight hypotheses based on PLS-SEM, social identity has a positive effect on sustainable behavior, which in turn positively affects satisfaction suggesting that the more backpackers identify themselves with this group the more sustainably they behave. Additionally, social identity has a negative impact on unsustainable behavior which negatively impacts behavioral intentions. These findings suggest that individuals who identify themselves as backpackers are less likely to engage in unsustainable behavior. Findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the nexus between backpacker social identity and sustainable behavior.

摘要

虽然背包客社会认同一直是旅游研究者关注的一个重要主题, 但其对可持续行为的影响却关注有限。本文基于结构方程模型和回归分析方法, 研究了背包客社会认同对可持续行为的影响。本研究在西非加纳的主要旅游中心开普海岸对400名背包客进行了问卷调查, 运用偏最小平方法结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）验证假设, 8个假设中有7个得到验证, 发现社会认同对可持续行为有积极影响, 而可持续行为反过来又会对满意度产生积极影响。这表明, 背包客越认同这个群体, 他们的行为就越可持续。此外, 社会认同对不可持续行为有负向影响, 不可持续行为对行为意图有负向影响。这些发现表明, 那些认为自己是背包客的人不太可能从事不可持续的行为。本研究结果有助于加深对背包客社会认同与可持续行为之间关系的理解。

Keywords:

• Social identity
• sustainable behaviors
• backpackers
• Cape Coast
• Ghana

关键词:

• 社会认同
• 可持续行为
• 背包客
• 海角海岸
• 加纳

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Agyeiwaah

Elizabeth Agyeiwaah is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida Wai Long, Taipa, Macau. Her research interests include sustainable tourism development, small and medium tourism enterprises, and tourist studies.

Stephen Pratt

Stephen Pratt is Professor and Head of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, the University of the South Pacific. His research interests include island tourism, sustainable tourism development, and tourists’ misbehavior.

Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto

Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests are in the areas of sustainable tourism, cultural geography, mobilities, and backpacker tourism.

Wantanee Suntikul

Wantanee Suntikul is an Assistant Professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her core research interests and expertise deal with the impact of tourism on cultural heritage tourism, sustainable tourism, and social aspects of tourism development.