Understanding the traits of tourism sustainability activists through a life course framework

ABSTRACT

This study has provided determinants influencing the emergence of tourism sustainability activists, which need to be taken into consideration in planning strategies. The contextual determinants include (1) Female (2) Empowered to be sustainability activists, because born or grew up in a pro-environment context (3) Having a higher education qualification in tourism or related topic (4) work in the tourism industry or related sectors (5) is self-employed/entrepreneur. The person determinants include: (1) Conscientiousness (2) Emotional stability (3) Extraversion (4) Agreeableness (5) Openness to experience.

KEYWORDS:

• Activists
• sustainability
• tourism
• working status
• life course framework
• sustainability agency framework

Introduction

The tourism industry has faced major issues in the previous 5 years. They may be over tourism (Séraphin, Ivanov, et al., 2020) and under tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Jamal & Budke, 2020). Both issues are shedding light on sustainability: the main challenge of this century (Sloan et al., 2013), and a major issue for the tourism industry (Higham et al., 2022).

To overcome its sustainability-related issues, the industry has put in place many strategies: the empowerment of children to be agents of change for the industry (Ernst & Burcak, 2019); the development and implementation of the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), for a better sustainability education of future leaders (Parkes et al., 2017; Visser, 2015); the development of policies (Getz, 2009) and sustainability guidelines and codes of conduct (Kornilaki, 2011); innovation (Visser, 2015), such as the development of eco-friendly products and services with champions such as the Scandic Group (Auriolle, 2011); etc.

The strategies put in place to reach this sustainability in the industry involve several stakeholders, such as children (Ernst & Burcak, 2019); HEIs (Parkes et al., 2017); corporates (Coutelau, 2011); event organisers (Mendes Malhado & Rothfuss, 2013); second home property owners (Hao et al., 2013); etc. The motivations behind all these sustainability strategies start from business-orientated purpose (marketing) and a growing demand from customers for ‘green’ products and services (Gladkikh & Andrianova, 2019; Leroux & Majd, 2019) to make it change (Higham et al., 2022).

Although several research studies discuss sustainability in the tourism industry (strategies to achieve sustainability; stakeholders involved in sustainability; motivation behind sustainability strategies; etc.), there are still untapped areas of research, such as research-associated individual traits and environmentally responsible behaviour (Kvasova, 2015). No research aims at understanding who the (tourism) sustainability thinkers (individuals with critical thinking with regard to sustainability initiatives), actioners (individuals encouraging changes within other individuals and local communities), and transformers (individuals wanting to unlock changes in the surrounding environment) are (Kemper et al., 2019; Séraphin, Yallop, et al., 2020). In other words, what has been their contextual and persona changes across their life-span (Zacher & Froidevaux, 2021).

The closest research to what this study aims to achieve has been carried out by Kvasova (2015), who reveals that tourists with an eco-friendly behaviour are individuals who are extroverts (extroversion) with a high level of empathy (agreeableness); they are also well organised, abide by rules and norms (conscientiousness); they sometimes experience negative feelings such as anxiety, anger, fear, sadness, and insecurity (neuroticism); and they are imaginative, broad-minded, and artistically sensitive (openness). Kvasova (2015) does not discuss the contextual and person changes across the life-span of these tourism sustainability activists. Moreover, the focus of the research is on tourists, where this study is about sustainability stakeholder activists (tourists, industry practitioners, lectures, etc.).

The objective of this study is to provide a typology of determinants (contextual and person) of tourism sustainability activists (passively or actively). In line with this, the study addresses the following research question: What are the key contextual and person determinants across the life-span of eco-friendly activists?

Based on the life course framework, the first part of the study investigates the non-work and/or non-institutional environment (home) of their childhood, adolescence, and youth. The second part of the study investigates their work and/or institutional environment (university and work). It is worth explaining that the life course framework, which ranges from birth to death (Carpenter, 2010), includes social pathways, turning points, and transitions and trajectories, is a tool that can help analyse and understand an individual journey (Carpenter, 2010; Fois, 2017). This framework make us understand human development through different stages of life (such as childhood to adulthood), factors that influence individuals’ life trajectories, life transitions, factors that could be considered turning points in people’s life, how some people live, and social networks influence other people’s lives, emotional positioning, life course trajectories, etc. (Fois, 2017).

This study is of importance, as Mandic and Vukovic (2021) argue that future research on ecotourism should investigate individuals’ behaviour. As this behaviour starts as early as childhood, with the values passed down from parents (and grandparents) to children in a non-work and/or non-institutional environment (Gram et al., 2019; Schänzel & Jenkins, 2016; Schill et al., 2020), understanding the development of their personal agency is important (Carballo Fuentes et al., 2022; Schill et al., 2020). The age range from childhood to early adulthood is the heart of this study as children and young adults are the future of the sustainability of the tourism industry (Cullingford, 1995; Koščak et al., 2021; Séraphin, Yallop, et al., 2020).

The results of this study could contribute to designing new policies, guidelines and/or codes of conduct that would foster the emergence of tourism eco-friendly activists (practical contribution). This is all the more important as individuals are fully aware they need to change their habits, but are not ready to actually do it (Mkono et al., 2020). From a conceptual point of view (conceptual contribution), the study provides a framework (context and personal determinants across a life-span) that would enable the achievement of this positive context. As all existing strategies have so far failed to achieve sustainability in tourism (Burrai et al., 2019), the framework of this study comes up with, might show better results, as there is a pressing emergency to achieve sustainability in tourism (Higham et al., 2022).

This study is based on a pilot study or a mini version of a full-scale study (Van Teijlingen & Hundley, 2001) also known as ‘feasible studies’ (Van Teijlingen & Hundley, 2001); ‘trial run’, ‘pre-test’ (Persaud, 2012) will then lead to the formulation of propositions with regard to the determinants (variables) playing a role in turning individuals into sustainable (tourism) activists or agents of change.

Literature review

Life-course framework

When discussing the life-course framework, three stages are to be considered. First, social pathways that should be understood as to how the social, cultural background and context can affect the positionality of an individual. Key aspects of social pathways include social background; country of origin; education; religion; work experience; etc. (Carpenter, 2010; Fois, 2017). Boutin (2013) explains that in Mali, women from a rich background, thanks to their network, are getting jobs easier than women with higher qualifications. Second, the turning point is to be understood as a significant change in the original life journey path taken by an individual (Carpenter, 2010). Retirement, marriage, decoupling, etc. are examples of turning points (Carpenter, 2010). The turnings point can be positive or negative; they are often the consequences of experiences or a consequence of people met. Finally, the transition stage, includes different stages: pre-adulthood followed by early adulthood, middle adulthood, and eventually late adulthood (Huber, 2019), sometimes it requires to have a new frame of mind and/or the help of someone who can help to make sense of this stage (Fois, 2017).

The life-course framework could have an impact on an individual personality. Indeed, to evaluate personality impressions, five key criteria, a core dimension of personality and a predictor of individual performance, are generally used: conscientiousness that relates to the individuals’ level of organisation and goal-directedness; emotional stability that is about the ability to remain calm under pressure; extraversion is connected with individuals’ level of expressiveness, enthusiasm and sociability; openness to experience evaluates the level of openness to new experiences, the level of creativity; and finally, agreeableness refers to individuals who are avoiding confrontations (Van de Ven et al., 2017). As the findings of Van de Ven et al. (2017) are closely related to those of Kvasova (2015) on the personality of eco-friendly activists, this reinforces the view that the life-course framework is suitable to investigate the typology of determinants of tourism sustainability activists.

The life-course framework is also referred to as a life-span development (Huber, 2019). It can be used to discuss an entire life course as done by Fois (2017) or to focus on a particular period of life, such as old age or gerontology as Huber (2019) has done. For this segment, for instance, the loss of a partner, illness of a partner, caring obligation, previous tourism experiences, perception of age, life course events play a role in their tourism consumption and decision-making process (Huber, 2019).

The life-course framework is related to the Social Ecological Model (SEM), as SEM explains that the choices that an individual make in his or her life result from: first his immediate surrounding or micro-system, which includes home, school, work, etc. Second factors impact the micro-system, such as the relationship between work and home. Age plays a role in tourism consumption, and motivation, decision-making process, and social behaviour (Huber, 2019). Gender also plays a role in life as men and women have distinctive sexual experiences that impact their entire life, such as virginity loss, etc. (Carpenter, 2010). This is referred to as the meso-system. Then, it is added to the exo-system, such as policies that impact the meso-system. Finally, the de macro-system encapsulates all the preceded listed systems (Pérez-Escamilla & Kac, 2013). The different systems influencing life course are doing it at all stages of life: gestation, infant, toddler, pre-schooler, child, teen, and adult (Pérez-Escamilla & Kac, 2013), old age and/or gerontology (Huber, 2019).

From a tourism perspective, Gibson and Yiannakis (2002) explain that tourism consumption varies according to the life cycle an individual finds himself in, namely: income, the presence or absence of children, the age of children, and the length of the vacation of the children. However, when a specific type of tourism is considered, such as sport tourism, it is mainly age, followed by the level of income and education of individuals, which impacts consumption (Gibson et al., 1998). Subsequently, taking the tourism industry overall or a specific type of tourism, social pathways, turning point and the transition stage, presented by Carpenter (2010) and Fois (2017) remain the three main stages influencing tourism consumption. The micro-system, meso-system, exo-system, and macro-system depicted by Carpenter (2010), Huber (2019), and Pérez-Escamilla and Kac (2013), also play a role in individual consumption of tourism products and services.

As for responsible tourism, the exo-system, namely, policies, regulations, codes of conduct, etc. (Pérez-Escamilla & Kac, 2013) are major influencers of individuals’ attitude with regard to sustainability (Coutelau, 2011; Ernst & Burcak, 2019; Getz, 2009; Kornilaki, 2011; Parkes et al., 2017), alongside the micro-system (non)work/institutional environments, such as home (Schill et al., 2020), university (Zacher & Froidevaux, 2021), work (Coutelau, 2011), and also the macro-environment, such as natural bio-sphere (Carballo Fuentes et al., 2022), etc.

Based on the preceded information, activism in tourism sustainability is a dependent variable; in other words, a factor that changes or is influenced by other factors (Hammond & Wellington, 2013), which could be a life cycle and/or systems.

Activism and sustainability

The general definition of an activist is someone fighting for a cause and often against a common enemy (Barnett, 2021). Activists, defined as individuals with the highest level of involvement with their local community, and involvement with political activities (Pancer et al., 2007), are also individuals with a high commitment for the well-being of others (Pancer et al., 2007), the consumption of eco-friendly products and services, dedication for the protection of the environment, and education of others (sometimes through protests) about this matter they consider to be highly important (Brochado et al., 2017).

Activists are, therefore, ecologically conscious of consumer behaviour (ECCB); in other words, individuals who worry the most about their purchasing behaviour and their impacts on the environment. Protecting the environment and consuming responsibly is even a lifestyle for these individuals (Brochado et al., 2017). Activists are engaged in protests activities which range from spectacular direct actions to expert and patient lobbying (Tranter, 2010). Some groups, such as Green Inside Activists in Sweden, are influencing policies and, therefore, making a difference in the country in terms of societal change (Hysing, 2011).

Determinants for this high level of care for the environment include the environment and age, because if an individual grows up in an environment where an environment concern is a matter of importance; this individual is likely to be more sensitive than the topic than someone else. Subsequently, the older you are, the more informed and sensitive you are to the topic; gender, as women seem to be more pro-environment than men; income, as individuals with higher disposable income are the ones who purchase eco-friendly products; education, as there is a positive correlation between the level of education and consumption behaviour. Additionally, support to a particular movement often starts at university (Fendrich & Lovoy, 1988); marital status and children, as married people with children are more likely to buy sustainable products and services; political beliefs, with individuals on the left of the political spectrum; religion; profession (Brochado et al., 2017; Tranter, 2010); ‘experience of an inescapable connection with the Earth, an awareness of how the natural environment is being degraded by human activity, and a feeling of responsibility’ (McDonald, 2003, p. 16); social and personal norms, which include value and ethics of a group; knowledge of the issue (Chen & Li, 2019).

Related to the life-course framework (or life-span development), the social pathway (age, gender, income, knowledge, value and ethics), turning point (university), transition (marital status, children), and the micro-system (environment), are playing a significant role in the emergence of sustainability activists. This statement reinforces what was said at the end of section ‘Life-course framework’. There are different levels of involvement ranging from active, passive, protest-group, non-protest group, active protest-group, non-active protest group members (Tranter, 2010).

‘Becoming’

Discussing ‘life course framework’, and ‘activism’ leads to the concept of ‘becoming’. Indeed, ‘Becoming’ is a process that leads an individual to become a better self (Lyle, 2009) or to frame its seeing (Brunila, 2016), involves a level of phantasy regarding what is to be achieved and the idea of a hierarchy (Ahmed, 1999). ‘Becoming’ also involves a process of learning, which is at the origin of the desired change, a new way of doing things, and/or a new way of being (Clegg et al., 2005). The concept of ‘becoming’ also suggests that nothing is fixed, but, everything is in constant becoming. As a result, this concept also suggests that when ‘becoming’ does not happen, organisations need to reconsider their structure and operation (Clegg et al., 2005). Last but not least, in the process of becoming, what matters the most is the movement instead of what has been moved (Clegg et al., 2005). It is worth highlighting that in this process there is also a certain degree of risk (Brunila, 2016).

Associating sustainability in tourism with children (section ‘Children and sSustainability’) is directly related to the concept of ‘becoming’ as the empowerment of children could make them the long-term better individuals with regard to sustainability (Lyle, 2009; Séraphin, Yallop, et al., 2020) and make new leaders with better practices (Clegg et al., 2005; Visser, 2015). As Cullingford (1995) highlighted, children are tourists of the future.

Children and sustainability

Children as activists

There are different levels of involvement of children and adults in sustainability action (Pancer et al., 2007). The same can also be said for young people involved in the life of their community or involvement in political matters, Pancer et al. (2007) explain that there are four levels of involvement: First, activists are those with the highest level of involvement with community and political activities; second, helpers are involved in community activities but not in political matters; then responders, responded to an invite, but did not initiate any contribution to the community or political activities; and finally, the uninvolved. Young people’s engagement in community life or school reaps many benefits from it as it evidences that those involved in this kind of activities are not showing any (anti-social) behaviour, such as drug or alcohol use, early pregnancy, etc. Instead, those young people have a clear sense of their future career, and are also high achievers at school and have rather high self-esteem. According to Pancer et al. (2007), the type of activities parents are involved in influences the type of activities the children become involved in.

‘Young people have been at the vanguard of a global wave of environmental activism’ (Pickard, 2019, p. 4). During a long time, children have been victims of environmental issues related to pollution such as water pollution which led to children diarrhoea, etc, and then morphed to be sustainability actors (Stephens, 1996). They are more and more considered as effective environmental change agent (Malone, 2013). This generation (millennium) is referred as Do-it-Ourselves protesters, due to the fact that the children activists are not part of any political party. It is a growing movement across the world (Pickard, 2019). Amongst the established and well-known movements involving children could be mentioned: Fridays for Future, the climate change movement created in 2018 by Greta Thunberg. Their demands include: ‘Keep the global temperature rise below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels; ensure climate justice and equity; listen to the best united science currently available’ (Fridays for Future [Online]); Climate Generation, a ‘non-profit dedicated to climate literacy, climate change education, youth leadership and community engagement for innovative climate change solutions’ (Climategen [Online]); Surfers Against Sewage, ‘is a national marine conservation and campaigning charity that inspires, unites and empowers communities to take action to protect oceans, beaches, waves and wildlife’ (Sas [Online]); etc.

Children and young people are concerned with the environment and their activism is not totally new, as the phenomenon arises when they realise that environmental issues impact their life (Habib, 1996). It is their school curriculum, extra-school curriculum activities, after school activities, youth club, home, day care (Chawla & Cushing, 2007), their own environmental interests which stimulated their environmental interest and activism such as informing others about the environment, issues, and engagement in community actions (Habib, 1996). This reinforces the role that the social pathway, and the micro-system play in fostering activism (Carpenter, 2010; Fois, 2017; Pérez-Escamilla & Kac, 2013).

Young people, who are considered as activists, developed their engagement within the local community at an early stage and it is as a result of the influence of their parents, family, teachers and the surrounding environment that involved in the local community life in one way or another (Pancer et al., 2007). This view is also shared by Tranter (2010), who adds that grandparents also play a role in the interest and involvement of young people have with environmental groups. Literature also supports the fact that when children are trained to believe in something (whether accurate or not; right or not), they become the advocate of the cause (Borman, 1998). In 1984, children are empowered by the ‘Thought Police’, and as a result they are taking full control of their household (Orwell, 1949).

The poor stewardship of the environment by adults and the fact that little has been done to engage them in environment planning and strategies, on top of their environment awareness and concern, are also an important engine in children activism (Spencer & Woolley, 2000). Engagement is not a homogenous status, as there is a different level of involvement, as discussed in the preceded subsection (Pancer et al., 2007; Chawla & Cushing, 2007). The level of engagement also varies according to gender, knowing that female children are more environmentally sensible (Chawla & Cushing, 2007). It is the same for adults (Fendrich & Lovoy, 1988).

Children as sustainable tourism activists

Similarly, many children and young adults are involved in environmental actions (climate change actions) and/or protests, such as Greta Thunberg (Mkono et al., 2020). Many others share the same fight, such as the French Iris Duquesne, the American Alexandria Villasenor, etc. (LeParisien [Online]). In sustainable tourism (and related industries), there are no children activists to the best knowledge of the authors. Existing literature not only acknowledges the fact that children have a significant role to play in the sustainability of the industry (Ernst & Burcak, 2019; Koščak et al., 2021) but also suggests strategies to get them involved in sustainable tourism (Séraphin & Vo-Than, 2020; Séraphin, Yallop, et al., 2020).

Séraphin, Yallop, et al. (2020) argues that when children are empowered to be responsible tourism agents of change, they move from different stages, namely, sustainability thinkers, in other words, individuals with critical thinking and questioning attitude; sustainability actioners, who are individuals looking to encourage changes in individuals and/or community; and finally, sustainability transformers (individuals wanting to unlock changes in the surrounding environment). Sustainability thinkers are whom Tranter (2010) refers to as an expert and patient lobbyists or passive non-protest group members. Tranter (2010) refers to sustainability actioners and transformers as individuals involved in spectacular direct actions and/or active protest group members. Aaran is an example of the anti-tourism movement at the origin of many protests or demonstrations against tourists in Spain. This caused some of their activists to be jailed (Majorcadailybulletin [Online]).

System

Nature-based strategies have been identified by Ernst and Burcak (2019) and also by other academics, such as Pegas et al. (2011) as a suitable tool to develop not only their understanding of how the environment work and issues threatening its sustainability but also developing a connection with this environment. Séraphin and Vo-Than (2020) also support this view as they argue that resort mini-clubs should develop a range of nature-based activities to educate children during holidays. A few hotel groups are pioneered in offering nature-based activities in resort mini-clubs. Club Med offers children many activities in that area, such as the ‘Super Radish’ programmes and Pedagogical Gardens, which sensitises children to healthy and responsible nutrition, teaching them about plants’ needs and how to grow fresh vegetables, or the Turtles’ hatch, or discovering fishes’ ecosystem on the underwater trail (ClubMed [Online]).

This nature-based approach is important as the closer an individual is to nature; the more likely this person is to be respectful of the environment, as proved by the case of Scandinavians who are known to be role models in terms of sustainability and eco-friendliness (Buckley, 2007; Cottrell & Cutumisu, 2006). This view supported by Schill et al. (2020) evidences the following: the higher the children personal determinant (knowledge and concern), environmental determinant (spatial organisation; communication style; and encouragement), and behavioural determinant (past experience) regarding recycling , the more the environmental sensitive people they are.

There is a close connection between the life course framework discussed by Carpenter (2010) and Fois (2017); and the sustainability agency framework developed by Schill et al. (2020), as a social pathway, one of the components of the life course framework (Carpenter, 2010; Fois, 2017) includes the same elements as the sustainability agency framework. The life-course framework is, therefore, a suitable tool to investigate and discuss sustainability traits of individuals (Table 1).

Table 1. Sustainability agency framework and life-course framework

Sustainability agency framework Schill et al. (2020)	Life-course framework (social pathway) Carpenter (2010); Fois (2017)
Higher children personal determinants (knowledge and concern)	knowledge and concern (research due to dissatisfaction)
Environmental determinant (spatial organisation; communication style; and encouragement)	Social background; country of origin; education; religion; work experience; identity, politics, etc.
Behavioural determinant (past experience)	History and identity
The more environmental sensitive children (individuals) are, the more engaged they are	The social, cultural background and context can affect the positionality of an individual.

Source: The authors (adapted from: Schill et al., 2020; Carpenter, 2010; Fois, 2017).

Contributions of the first part of the study and propositions

Pro-environment contexts, such as Natural Biosphere Reserve (NBR), created by UNESCO in 1993 (Edo et al., 2019), are destinations where ecosystems are protected while being used for human benefits (Batisse, 1982). This exo-system (NBR) influences the macro- and micro-systems (how locals live, think, etc.). All three systems reflect the three stages of the life course/span framework (social pathway, turning point and transition). They have a direct impact on individual personality. They could, for instance, potentially contribute to making this person a passive or active sustainability activist and/or contribute to a shift from this person from being a victim of the environment to an active agent of change of the environment. However, it is worth mentioning that these changes vary according to some variables, such as gender, age, social background, education, etc. On that basis, children are considered as strong potential agents of change when it comes to (environment) sustainability.

The first proposition (P1) of the study is that pro-environment contexts (as opposed to non-pro-environment contexts), whether work, non-work, institutional or non-institutional related contribute to turn children, adolescents, and youths into active sustainable tourism agents of change or sustainable tourism activists (tourism sustainability thinkers, actioners, and/or transformers). This pro-environment context results from a suitable social pathway, correlated with suitable micro-, exo-, and macro-systems. For destinations to foster sustainable tourism activists, creating a pro-environment context supported with suitable systems is a prerequisite.

The second Proposition (P2) of the study is that in sustainable tourism (as opposed to sustainability in general), specific variables impacti children’s likeliness of becoming sustainable tourism agents of change or sustainable tourism activists (tourism sustainability thinkers, actioners, and/or transformers). These variables (personality traits and/or person determinants) are dependent (such as conscientiousness; emotional stability; extraversion; agreeableness; openness to experience). Others, such as contextual determinants and related determinants, are independent variables (such as age, environment, income, gender, education, religion).

Overall, pro-environment contexts positively contributt to nurturing passive and active activitists. The turning point stage will be the determinant in the transition/trajectory of each individual.

The following section investigates the impact of university time as a turning point in the life course of nurtured activists. The findings of this section are challenging. Seraphin, Yallpp, et al. (2020), who argue in a theoretical study that children, when empowered to be responsible tourists, go through different stages: sustainability thinkers (1st); then move to the sustainability transformer stage (2nd); and finally, to the sustainability actioner stage. This study argues that there is no stage as children can experience all three aspects simultaneously, and almost equally.

University: the turning point

Research foundation

So far, the study has focused on children and adolescents. Indeed, 7–17 is the period ranging from childhood to adolescence/youth (0–12: childhood; 13–24 years old: adolescence/youth), which is a period when some person changes happen, such as development of personal agency and development of career interests. Some contextual changes also happen during this period, such as a transition from school to work, and potentially, changes in economic conditions, welfare regime, labour law (Zacher & Froidevaux, 2021). This section focuses on the period adolescence/youth to later adulthood (13–24 years old: adolescence/youth; 25–39 years old: early adulthood; 40–60 years old: middle adulthood; 61–84 years old: later adulthood). During this period, many person changes occur during this span, such as the change of motives for working, increase in consciousness, emotional stability. The contextual changes happening during this span of life include career transitions, career plateau, work and non-work interface, and agreeableness (Zacher & Froidevaux, 2021). More specifically, this section focuses on the university as a turning point, as it is the transition school to work (Zacher & Froidevaux, 2021) and the social status related to the job (Zacher & Froidevaux, 2021).

Data collection

Data were collected from LinkedIn. In the search box of LinkedIn, the keywords: ‘sustainable’ and ‘tourism’ were entered. Only individuals, who have ‘sustainable’ and/or ‘sustainability’ in their job title, were kept. This study shortlisted the first 26 profiles Matching these criteria (Appendix). The results of the data collected are summarised in Table 1. The number of profiles considered is sufficient based on the fact Huber (2019) biographical research aiming to understand the relationship life course transitions and seniors’ tourism behaviour, which considered factors such as gender, age, employment status, marital status, housing situation, parental status of participants, past travel history, current travel behaviour, and future intentions to travel, was based on the interview of 23 participants. Additionally, as the purpose of this study is to snapshot a phenomenon, small samples are suitable (Persaud, 2012; Van Teijlingen & Hundley, 2001). As drivers of ecologically conscious individuals can be understood using data on demographic and environment behaviourand because the level of ecological consciousness is related to the level of education of individuals (Brochado et al., 2017; Fendrich & Lovoy, 1988; Tranter, 2010). LinkedIn as a professional self-promotion platform (Dijck, 2013) appears as suitable for the collection of data as it provides valuable information on the individual job title, where they worked in the past, and their level of education (Bradbury, 2011; Van de Ven et al., 2017). In the USA, social networks are used by 92% of companies to pre-screen job applications (Van de Ven et al., 2017), and working professionals use the platform as their networking tool (Davis et al., 2020).

The survey was designed to collect data from the 7–17 years old; questions regarding the level of education and occupation of the parents could have been asked to the children/youth. However, individuals are the best informants about themselves (Poria & Timothy, 2014). As LinkedIn profiles are completed, by individuals themselves (Dijck, 2013), it is be a source of reliable information.

Results and discussion

Gender

Females represent (80%) the largest group of the sample holding a sustainability role within an organisation. Indeed, females, whether children or adults, are more environmentably sensible than males (Chawla & Cushing, 2007; Fendrich & Lovoy, 1988).

Level of education

The individuals considered in the sample have a high level of qualification. They all have an HEI qualification. The Master is the most common one (53%). As for the topic of their qualification, ‘Responsible Tourism Management’ (19%) is the most common one. University is the first common point among all these individuals. University is an important stage in life as it is the place and time of life when consciousness about particular issues or topics increases (Fendrich & Lovoy, 1988; Zacher & Froidevaux). Many individuals started their activists, also referred to as a fight for a cause (Barnett, 2021), and/or protesting activities at university (Barnett, 2021; Fendrich & Lovoy, 1988). The level of dedication for the protection of the environment, and the level of involvement with organisations about this matter, varies according to the level of education (Boutin, 2013; Brochado et al., 2017; Tranter, 2010). University is also an important part in the life of an individual as it plays a significant role in the future profession of this individual (Green & Celkan, 2014). Last but not least, it is worth mentioning the fact that 31% of the individuals of this sample have studied in an HEI, which is part of the Principles of Responsible Management (PRME) network, which is a network promoting sustainability in business education (Séraphin & Vo-Than, 2020). Indeed, sustainability is important for HEIs to convey a positive image of the institution to external and internal stakeholders (Salvioni et al., 2017).

Employment

Sustainable consultant (27%) and head of sustainability or sustainability manager (15%) are the most common job titles of individual surveyed. In general, they are working for consulting firms, Destination Marketing Organisations, Tour Operators, and finally associations. These individuals could be said to have high level of interest or commitment for sustainability and for the environment, as it has been proved that there is a match between personality traits and occupation and the level performance of individuals (Goffin et al., 2011). Additionally, it could be said that there is a job match defined as the match between the level of qualification of an individual and the educational level needed by this person to perform his or her job (Marchante et al., 2007). This match contributes to the level of motivation of the member of staff (Boella & Goss-Turner, 2020).

Status as the key variable

65% of the sample run their own business, and 35% are employees.Appendix and Table 2 show that the individual running their own business (consultancy firms) are the most qualified ones, as 67% of them have a Master’s degree. These individuals could be the one the most engaged with sustainability and fighting actively for causes and/or against common enemies (Barnett, 2021), as self-employed individuals, they are crafting their own job, which is often related to engagement (vigour, dedication, and absorption) and high level of performance (Bakker et al., 2012). Additionally, terms associated with activism active protesters are close to the ones used to discuss self-employed individual also known as entrepreneurs. Among these terms could be mentioned the capacity to take and cope with risks (Drucker, 1985), while removing barriers to build success (Knight, 1921).

Table 2. Profile of tourism sustainability professionals

Gender	Level of education	Location HEIs
Female = 21 (80%)	Master = 14 (53%)	England = 13 (50%)
Male = 5 (20%)	Bachelor = 7 (27%)	Australia = 2 (7%)
	No data = 3 (11%)	Germany = 1 (4%)
	PhD = 1 (4%)
	Higher Vocation Diploma = 1 (4%)
Most common topic of degree	Nb PRME HEIs	Job title
Resp. Tourism Mgt = 5 (19%)	PRME = 8 (31%)	Sustainable consultant = 7 (27%)
		Head/sustainability manager = 4 (15%)
Type of organisation / employer	Status within the organisation	Location job
Consulting firm = 9 (35%)	Employee = 17 (65%)	England = 11 (42%)
DMO = 5 (19%)	Owner = 9 (35%)	Australia = 2 (7%)
TO = 2 (7%)		Spain = 2 (7%)
Association = 2 (7%)		Scotland = 2 (7%)
		Sweden = 2 (7%)

Source: The authors.

Conclusion

Summary

This study bridges a gap in the literature as this is the only one to have investigated sustainability in tourism from a life-course framework, while explicitly showing the connections between life-course framework and the sustainability agency framework.

For the childhood to adolescence/youth period, the social pathway, and more specifically, a pro-environment context (such as NBR, or a family context where the respect of the environment matters), is a segment of the life-span that enlightens children and youth about sustainability. However, this segment of the life-span does not determine which type of activists (passive or active) they will be. For the adolescence/youth to later adulthood period, the turning point, and more specifically, university time (alongside tourism subject major) is the segment of the life-span that influences the type of sustainable tourism activist individuals become as most of the highest qualified individuals become self-employed sustainable tourism consultants fighting for the cause they believe in, as part of active protest groups, at the origin of spectacular direct actions. Others (employees) are less flexible, and as a result, become experts and patient lobbyists (passive protesters, non-members of protest groups).

Conceptual contribution: typology of tourism sustainability activists

This study has provided person and contextual determinants (relevant to work; non-work, institutional or non-institutional) influencing the emergence or fostering of tourism sustainability activists:

Contextual determinants

(1) Female (2) Empowered to be sustainability activists, either because born or grew up in a pro-environment context (3) Has a higher education qualification in tourism or related topic (4) work in the tourism industry or related sectors (5) is self-employed/entrepreneur.

Person determinants

(1) Conscientiousness (2) Emotional stability (3) Extraversion (4) Agreeableness (5) Openness to experience

Practical contribution statement

Practical contribution 1: Cooperation amongst stakeholders

The finding of this study also reveals and reinforces how important it is for all stakeholders of the tourism industry and related sectors to work together. Here, it is the need for central governments as policy-makers; Destination Marketing Organisations as implementers of these policies; and HEIs providing tourism courses, as suppliers of industry professionals to not only work together but to understand the impacts of each other actions.

Practical contribution 2: Cooperation amongst stakeholders

This study has highlighted the importance for destinations to (1) develop outdoors, green and tranquil spaces to enable locals to reconnect with their natural environment and develop some kind of sensibility for the environment (2) monitor the type of tourism pathways on offer, and the profile of academics delivering the different modules, as the university has been identified as a turning point in the life of tourism practitioners.

Disclosure statement

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

Appendix. Life course framework of practitioners working in sustainable tourism

Table

	Initial	Gender	Educ. (HE)	HEIs	Topic/Area	PRME	Dest. Hold degree from	Current/last job	Employer	Type of Org.	Status (Owner (O)/Employee (E))	Location job
1	HG	M	PhD	Manchester Uni	Pol science & Gvt	NO	England	Prof. Resp Management	Manchester Met. Uni	HEI	E	England
2	PR	F	Bachelor	Univ Syd.	ND	YES	Australia	Head of Sust.	Tourism Australia	DMO	E	Australia
3	SW	F	Master	Leeds Beckett Uni	Resp Tourism Mgt	YES	England	Resp. Tourism & Sust. Coord.	Inside Asia Tour	T.O	E	England
4	KB	F	Bachelor	Murdoch Uni	Tour. & Sust.	YES	Australia	Sust. Planning & Comm Manager	TUI	T.O	E	England
5	PS	F	Master	King's College	Tour.Env. Dvt	NO	England	Group Head of Sust.	Hotelplan UK Ltd	Hotel	E	England
6	BV	F	Master	Universidad Complutense Madrid	Geo Info Tech	NO	Spain	Ind Sustainability Consultant	Self-employed	Consultancy	O	Spain
7	TA	F	Bachelor	Jami At Al-Ulum	Lit & Translation	NO	Jordan	Sust. Manager	Dubai Tourism	DMO	E	Dubai
8	CJ	F	Master	Univ Oxford	Physics	NO	England	Head of Sust.	ABTA	Association	E	England
9	GR	M	Master	Leeds Beckett Uni	Resp Tourism Mgt	YES	England	Sustainanle tourism consultant	Self-employed	Consultancy	O	England
10	CI	M	Master	Edinburg Napier Uni.	Ecotourism	YES	Scotland	Director of Sustainability	WTTC	Council	E	Scotland
11	MV	F	Master	Mediterranean Agro Instit. Of Chania	Conservtion of Nat. Ress.	NO	Greece	Sustainanle tourism consultant	Self-employed	Consultancy	O	Germany
12	MF	F	ND	Univ. Cambridge	Sust. Bus. Mgt	NO	England	Sustainability Manager	Discover the world education	Education Travel	E	England
13	KT	F	Bachelor	Goteborg Uni.	Busi.Admin. & Marketing	NO	Sweden	Sustainability Strategist & Dest. Dvt.	Goteborg & Co.	DMO	E	Sweden
14	ADJ	F	Master	Wagenigen Uni	Tourism, Leisure & Env.	NO	Netherlands	Sustainability consultant	Self-employed	Consultancy	O	Netherlands
15	KW	F	Master	Leeds Beckett Uni	Resp Tourism Mgt	YES	England	Director of Sustainability & Stewardship	Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association	Association	E	Canada
16	GH	F	Bachelor	CIMIC Katholieke Hogeschool Mechelen	Int. Comm & Intercult Mgt	NO	Belgium	Sustainability Manager	Joker Tourism	Excursion	E	Belgium
17	PR	M	Higher Voc Educ Diploma	Akademi Bastad	Busi Dvt & Sust Tourism	NO	Sweden	Sust Advisor & Lect	Northflash Sust Dest Services	Consultancy	O	Sweden
18	JN	F	Master	Oxford Brookes Uni	Tourism & Env Mgt	YES	England	Sustainable Tourism Manager	VisitScotland	DMO	E	Scotland
19	EM	F	Master	La Sapienza	Tourism & Env Mgt	NO	Italy	Officer on sustainable Dvt	Regione Autonoma Della Sardegna	DMO	E	Italy
20	DG	F	ND	Hochschule fur Anewandte	Sustainable Tourism	NO	Germany	Sustainability consultant	Self-employed	Consultancy	O	Spain
21	PB	M	Master	The Open University	Development Mgt	NO	England	Sustainability consultant	Self-employed	Consultancy	O	England
22	RM	F	Master	University North London	Int Tourism Policy	YES	England	Sustainability consultant	Self-employed	Consultancy	O	England
23	LW	F	Master	Metropolitan University Manchester	Marketing	NO	England	Sustainability Manager	British Airways	Airline	E	England
24	SP	F	Bachelor	Solent	ND	NO	England	VP Sustainability	Carnival UK	Cruise	E	England
25	JB	F	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	Environment & Sust. Manager	Tourism Noosa	Project	E	Australia
26	KE	F	Bachelor	University of Sussex	Geo with Dvt	NO	England	Sustainability consultant	Kat Emmtt Consulting	Consultancy	O	England