The positive effect of awe on pro-environmental tourism via self-transcendent values

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The positive effect of awe on pro-environmental

tourism via self-transcendent values

By

Dianne Hordijk

MASTER THESIS FOR MSC MARKETING

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

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The positive effect of awe on pro-environmental

tourism via self-transcendent values

MASTER THESIS FOR MSC MARKETING

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Faculty of Economics and Business

Dianne Hordijk Nieuwe Kerkhof 35-3

9712 PX Groningen 0031-652675632 Student number: S3018601

First supervisor: Marijke Leliveld Second supervisor: Yannick Joye

m.c.leliveld@rug.nl y.joye@rug.nl

Nettelbosje 2 Nettelbosje 2

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Preface

Hereby, I am presenting you my master thesis. For me, this thesis fulfils the last part to graduate as a Master in Marketing Management at the University of Groningen. I am looking back at a pleasant time as being a student in Groningen. I am very happy and satisfied that I decided to do a master in marketing after finishing my bachelor in tourism management. Now, the time has come for a new adventure and I am excited to start working and put my knowledge to the test.

I could not have finalised this thesis without the support and feedback from the people around me. First of all, a special thanks goes to my first supervisor dr. Marijke Leliveld for being supportive, answering all my questions and providing me with extensive feedback.

Additionally, I would like to thank my second supervisor Yannick Joye for supervising my thesis as well, and for making me interested in the topic ‘awe’ during my pre-master in marketing.

Lastly, I would like to show my gratitude to my family and friends for their support and patience with me during this somewhat stressful period.

For now, I hope you will enjoy reading my thesis.

Dianne Hordijk

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engagement in pro-environmental tourism (PET). This article uses the Schwartz’ value system by saying that the emotion awe leads to self-transcendent values and that these values lead to pro-environmental tourism. My survey experiment randomly assigned participants to three conditions, an awe condition, an amusement condition and a neutral condition. The

experiment revealed that the manipulation of experiencing awe significantly led to the experience of awe. However, the manipulated awe did not affect PET, while the experienced awe did have a positive effect on PET as predicted. Furthermore, I argue that the relationship between the experienced awe and pro-environmental tourism will be stronger for consumers that are already aware of pro-environmental tourism. My survey experiment confirmed this prediction by revealing that a high level of PET awareness strengthens the effect of

experiencing awe on pro-environmental tourism. The limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are given at the end of this article.

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1. Introduction

Last year, 2017, was the international year of sustainable tourism. On the 27th_{of September}

the World Tourism Day 2017 took place. The general question during that day was “how can we enable the powerful global transformative force of tourism to contribute to make this world a better place and to advance sustainable development in all its five pillars: economic, social, environmental, cultural and peace?” (UNWTO, 2017). The tourism industry produces 10% of global GDP and provides 1 in 10 jobs globally. Therefore it is crucial that the growth of this industry will be sustainable (UNWTO, 2017). The use of fossil fuels and related emissions of greenhouse gases is the most pressing environmental problem related to tourism (Gössling et al., 2005). Paul Peeters was recently interviewed for an article in a Dutch

newspaper (i.e. AD) in which he mentions that airplanes are responsible for 2.5% of worldwide CO2 emissions (Bruinsma & Stil, 2017). He emphasises how important it is to make immediate changes in the tourism industry.

The sustainability of the tourism industry has been researched extensively and aimed at identifying how the tourism industry can be developed and maintained at a touristic location while minimising adverse environmental impacts (Dolnicar, Crouch, and Long, 2008).However, very little research has been done on a crucial stakeholder in tourism, the environmental-friendly tourist. In fact, there is a limited understanding of what kind of tourist behaviour can be considered as pro-environmental.

Contributing in environmental tourism can be considered part of

pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) since it takes into account how to harm the environment the least. Pro-environmental behaviour is largely determined by one’s personal values.

Individuals are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviour when they subscribe to values beyond their own immediate interests (Steg & Vlek, 2009). These values can be described as self-transcendent values. Self-transcendent individuals have positive attitudes towards sustainable consumption and are therefore more likely to engage in

pro-environmental tourism.

One driver of self-transcendent values is awe; experiencing awe can lead to

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motivators to engage in pro-environmental behaviour, and specifically pro-environmental tourism. The aim of this thesis is to study this positive effect of awe on PET.

1.1. Pro-environmental tourism

Before going into detail about what PET is, one should first know what tourism entails. Tourism is defined as ‘the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one year’ (Cooper, 1999, p.12). Tourism has been recognised as a tool for sustainable development and has been designated one of the priority sectors in the search for economic diversification (UNWTO, 2017). Sustainable tourism can be defined as tourism that takes into account its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts: it remarks the needs of visitors, the environment, the industry, and host communities (de Lange & Dodds, 2016). There are three sustainability principles that refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of sustainable tourism development (UNWTO, 2017).

1. Make optimal use of environmental resources, maintaining essential ecological processes and help to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.

2. Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.

3. Ensure long-term economic operations that benefit all stakeholders, including stable employment, social services to host communities, and contributes to poverty

alleviation.

Consumers can make the most significant change within the environmental aspect since the use of fossil fuels and related emissions of greenhouse gases are the most crucial problem related to tourism (Gössling, Peeters, Ceron, Dubois, Patterson, & Richardson, 2005). Tourists, overnight visitors, cause 4.4% of global CO2 emissions. It is expected that these

emissions will grow with an average rate of 3.2% per year. This increase is problematic since a reduction of emissions by 3-6% globally is required to avoid dangerous climate change (Peeters & Dubois, 2010). The travel distance to the destination contributes the most to an unfavourable eco-efficiency (Gössling et al., 2005). Around 90% of the energy that is used in tourism is spent on access and return travel (WTO, 2005). Recently Paul Peeters explained in an interview (i.e. AD) that if our upgoing travel behaviour continues, we will travel 9 times as often in 2100 as we do now. Peeters also mentions that the CO2 emissions of tourism will

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Pro-environmental tourism has been researched in depth for some years already. The aim of this research has been to identify how the tourism industry can economically develop while minimising environmental impacts (Sharpley, 2000; Ruhanen et al., 2015). However, a consumer perspective is lacking in this research. Interestingly, limited research has been done about what tourist behaviour can be considered pro-environmental (Dolnicar et al., 2008). The power of the consumer can be an important force for moving towards a pro-environmental tourism industry (Miller, 2003). A study by Dolnicar et al. (2008) mentions seventeen factors that define environmental-friendly tourists (EFTs), like learning about nature, protection of nature, cultural interactions. However, the actual behaviour of the EFTs was not mentioned. Furthermore, the authors conclude that EFTs need to be better understood by future research and that insights from other fields can be used for this understanding. In other words, a broader understanding of pro-environmental behaviour is necessary to be able to understand and thus change PET. Pro-environmental behaviour refers to behaviour that harms the

environment as little as possible or even benefits the environment (Steg & Vlek, 2009). Green purchasing can be considered pro-environmental behaviour. Pro-environmental tourism in a consumer context is part of green consumerism since tourists purchase a “green touristic product”.

Green purchasing decisions in everyday buying behaviour offers consumers a chance to reduce the environmental impact by choosing products that are environmentally friendly (Moser, 2015). Through purchasing green products consumers can contribute significantly to improving the quality of the environment (Abdul-Muhmim, 2007). Chen and Chai (2010) define a green product as an ecological product or environmental friendly product. It refers to products produced using recycled content, reduced packaging or using less toxic materials to diminish the impact on the natural environment. The willingness to buy green products mostly depends on one’s psychographic characteristics such as personal values and lifestyles (Stern & Dietz, 1994).

1.2. Motivations for pro-environmental behaviour

More specific, a positive relation was found between self-transcendent values and attitudes towards sustainable consumption (Schultz and Zelezny, 1998; Pepper et al., 2009). Schwartz (1992) developed a model for classifying the dimensions of values with ten universal value types, which can be reduced to four value categories: (1) openness to change, (2)

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tradition, conformity, and security. Self-transcendence is defined by values of universalism and benevolence. The last category, self-enhancement, is characterised by values of power and achievement (Schultz, Gouveia, Cameron, Tankha, Schmuck, Franek, 2005). The value conflict theory suggests that a person having opposing values (e.g. self-transcendent values vs. self-enhancement values) will suffer from inner conflicts which cause discomfort. This discomfort can be reduced by adjusting the value priorities (Burroughs, and Rindfleisch, 2002). This indicates that personal values are not fixed traits but can be malleable.

Figure 1

Schwartz’s value model (Schwartz, 2001, p. 5)

Previous studies have examined the value-basis of environmental beliefs and behaviour. These studies revealed that the more strongly individuals subscribe to values beyond their own immediate interests, the more likely they are to engage in

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Schwartz, Sagiv, and Boehnke (2000) found similar results where self-transcendent values positively correlated with macro-level environmental worries. Karp (1996) found that self-transcendence is positively correlated with self-reported environmental behaviour. This result is confirmed by the study of Schultz et al. (2005) where self-transcendence was positively predictive of pro-environmental behaviour when activated. Moreover, self-transcendent individuals have positive attitudes and behaviours towards actual sustainable consumption (Pinto et al., 2014). This is in line with the study of Joshi and Rahman (2015) that indicated consumer’s environmental concern as a major determinant of green purchase behaviour. In line with all of the described research, I hypothesised a similar relationship between self-transcendence and PET. Specifically, I hypothesise:

Hypothesis 1: the higher one’s self-transcendent values, the more likely one is to engage in pro-environmental tourism

1.3. Awe

Note however, one’s personal values are not the only motivator for engaging in

pro-environmental behaviour. The emotion awe also plays a role in acting pro-pro-environmentally as both a personal and situational factor. According to Keltner and Haidt (2003) awe can be defined as the emotion that arises when one encounters something so strikingly vast that it provokes a need to update one’s mental schemas. Vastness and accommodation are the two most important features of the causes of awe. Vastness can be described as experiencing anything that is being much larger than the self, which in the end results in the person

experiencing awe feeling small. Vastness is often a matter of physical size, being located in a grand environment. It can also involve social size such as fame or authority. Accommodation refers to the process of adjusting mental structures that current mental structures cannot assimilate. Just like a new experience, it involves confusion and obscurity (Keltner & Haidt, 2003).

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towards life (Tian & Lu, 2015). Importantly, the most common awe induction and reported elicitor of awe is nature (Shiota, Keltner & Mossman, 2007).

1.3.1. Personality influences on PET: the role of awe

Shiota et al. (2007) found that awe-prone people are particularly comfortable with revising their mental representations of the world. Human admiration for the world incorporates the emotions of awe and wonder. According to Perkins (2010) awe can be seen as an internalised motivation that fosters environmentally sensitive moral behaviours. Internalised motivations are grounded in the self-determination theory. This theory assumes that people are more likely to engage in a behaviour if they perceive that the motivation to do it comes from within them rather than from an external, controlling agent (Obaldiston & Sheldon, 2003).

1.3.2. Situational influences on PET: the role of awe

As mentioned before, awe has been found to increase pro-social behaviour (Piff et al., 2015). Much of environmental behaviour research is based on theory and research on pro-social behaviour. Therefore Davis (2016) assumed that awe has a similarly positive influence on environmental behaviour. She argues that awe is positively related to environmental behaviour. More specifically awe that is experienced in nature leads to pro-environmental behaviour.

Based on the discussed literature, I assume that there is a positive direct relationship between experiencing awe and pro-environmental behaviour. Specifically, I hypothesise:

Hypothesis 2: the more one experiences awe, the more likely one is to engage in pro-environmental tourism

1.3.3. The connection between awe and self-transcendence

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self-transcendence. Furthermore, I assume that the relationship between awe and pro-environmental tourism can be mediated via self-transcendence. Specifically, I hypothesise:

Hypothesis 3: the more one experiences awe, the higher one’s self-transcendent values

Hypothesis 4: the more one experiences awe, the higher one’s self-transcendent values which subsequently leads to engaging in pro-environmental tourism

1.4. Awareness of pro-environmental tourism

The level of consumer awareness of pro-environmental products can influence their acceptance towards these products. In fact, Ottman (1992) found that consumers accepted green products when they understood how a green product could help solve environmental problems. The lack of knowledge about uses and values of green products prevents consumers from committing themselves in green purchasing. By creating a credible product image which focuses on the value of the product and its concrete benefits for the environment consumers learn to appreciate and value the green product, which finally leads to green consumption patterns (Moser, 2015). This is in line with the study of Amendah and Park (2008) that argues that raising knowledge and awareness can change consumption patterns. Looking at the PET perspective, the WTO (2005) says that raising the tourist’s awareness of sustainability issues can help develop pro-environmental tourism. A study of Miller et al. (2010) shows a lack of awareness of the impact of tourism relative to day-to-day behaviour. However, they also conclude that an increase in awareness does not necessarily lead to a change in environmental behaviour. Based on this research I argue that the awareness of PET can strengthen the relationship between experiencing awe and PET. Specifically, I hypothesise:

Hypothesis 5: the positive effect of experiencing awe on engaging in pro-environmental tourism will be stronger for people who are aware of PET

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Figure 2 Conceptual model

2. Methodology

2.1. Participants and design

This internet-based study was programmed in Qualtrics. 293 participants started the online survey, 3 participants were deleted from the database since they did not complete the survey. The participants consisted of 124 male participants and 166 female participants, in the age range of 18 till 85 (M= 36.04, SD= 13.1). The participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions: (1) 98 participants to the neutral condition, (2) 101 participants to the amusement condition), and (3) 91 participants to the awe condition. This study used a 3 cell (awe vs. amusement vs. neutral) between-subject design to study the effect of awe on PET, and with PET awareness as being the continuous moderator.

2.2. Materials

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amusement condition enables me to ascertain that found effects are not based on general positivity but on awe.

2.3. Procedure

The survey began with an informed consent. Then some demographic questions were asked. Next, the participants’ awareness of PET was questioned. To measure the PET awareness I created a new scale, including 1 item about pro-environmental tourism and 11 unrelated current trends and developments (e.g. bitcoin, share economy, organic food). Only this 1 item on pro-environmental tourism was the target measure, the other 11 items were used as filler items to minimise the focus on the PET item. The participants were asked for a

self-evaluation of their knowledge about these trends and developments. They had to indicate on a 7-point scale (1= absolutely no idea, 7= very well) if they knew about the mentioned items.

After this question, a filler task was included in which I asked the participants to come up with 10 words that started with a P and consist of 5 letters. This filler task was included to divert the attention from the PET item the participants saw before.

Then the participants were asked to watch either the awe-inducing, amusement or neutral video. A timer was put on the videos to make sure that the participants watched the full video. To check whether my manipulation worked, I asked the participants to indicate on a 7-point scale (1= strongly disagree, 7= strongly agree) to what extent they had experienced the following emotions: amusement, anger, awe, disgust, fear, sadness and happiness.

Next, I included the “Short Schwartz Value Survey” (Lindemans & Verkasalo, 2005) to measure if the participants that saw the awe-inducing video prioritised the self-transcendent values more than participants from the other categories. The participants were asked on a 7-point scale (1= not at all important, 7= extremely important) to indicate the importance of 39 values that belong to the ten value types. To calculate self-transcendence I only used the 13 items that belong to this category, like unity with nature, equality, honesty, and forgiveness.

During the last part of the survey, the participants were asked to give their opinion on 22 statements about consumer behaviour. These included 7 statements about

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Specifically, the participants were asked on a 7-point scale to what extent they agreed or disagreed (1= strongly disagree, 7= strongly agree) with the statements. To calculate the engagement in PET I only used the 8 statements about pro-environmental tourism (e.g. I think it is fair to pay carbon taxes if I travel by plane; I take the environment into account by

travelling less far or often).

Finally, the participants were given the opportunity to comment on the study. The survey ended with a short debriefing and the opportunity for the participants to leave their email address if they were interested in the study results. The complete survey can be found in appendix I.

3. Results

Three reliability analyses were conducted to check whether the PEB, PET and

self-transcendence measurement scales were valid and reliable. The reliability analyses revealed that the PEB scale (α = .705; 7 items), the PET scale (α= 0.8; 8 items), and the

self-transcendence scale (α= 0.911; 13 items) are valid and reliable. Then, I checked if all participants clicked on the correct answer at the attention check. Unfortunately, 29

participants did not click on ‘strongly agree’ when they were asked to. I first eliminated these participants from further analyses to increase the validation of my study (Oppenheimer, Meyvis & Davidenko, 2009). This resulted in 91 participants in the amusement condition, 90 participants in the neutral condition and 80 participants in the awe condition. After describing all the analyses, I will present a sensitivity check in which I analysed if there are important differences between including or excluding these 29 participants, since it is not scientifically proven what is better (Lehrer, 2014; Vannette, 2017).

3.1 Emotion awe (manipulation check)

A One-Way ANOVA on the experienced awe with the movie condition (amusement vs. neutral vs. awe) as the independent variable revealed a significant main effect, F(2,258) = 70.60, p = .000. Participants that saw the awe-inducing video indeed experienced significantly more awe (M = 5.24; SD = 1.69) than participants that saw the amusement (M = 2.66; SD = 1.57) or neutral video (M = 2.79; SD = 1.49). Planned comparisons were conducted to test whether the awe induction led to the experience of the emotion awe, relative to the

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awe condition compared with the neutral and amusement conditions. The control contrast (coded as awe = 0, amusement = 1, and neutral = -1) was not significant, p = .581, indicating that there were no important differences in the experienced awe between the neutral and amusement condition.

3.2 Self-transcendent values

First, the relationship between the manipulated awe and the self-transcendent values was tested. A One-Way ANOVA analysis with the movie condition as the independent variable and the self-transcendence value scale as the dependent variable revealed a significant main effect F(2,258) = 3.19, p = .043. Thus, participants that saw the awe-inducing video find self-transcendent values more important (M = 79.16; SD = 9.03) than participants from the other conditions (Amusement: M = 76.08; SD = 9.23; Neutral: M = 75.64; SD = 10.95).

Second, I analysed if the relationship also existed between the actually experienced awe, rather than the manipulated awe, and self-transcendent values. A simple linear regression was conducted to predict the importance of self-transcendent values based on the experienced awe. A positive significant regression equation was found β = .239, F(1,259) = 15.70, p = .000, with an R2 _{of .057. Thus, 5.7% of the variance in the importance of self-transcendent}

values can be explained by experiencing awe. Both of the analyses confirmed hypothesis 3.

3.3. Pro-environmental behaviour

Before focussing on PET, the relationship between awe and pro-environmental behaviour was tested to confirm previous research. A One-Way ANOVA analysis was conducted with the movie condition as the independent variable and PEB scale as the dependent variable. The analysis revealed that the effect of the manipulated awe on PEB was not significant, F(2, 258) = 2.699, p = .069. Then, I checked if the actual experienced awe did affect PEB. A simple linear regression was calculated to predict PEB based on the experienced awe. A positive significant regression equation was found β = .164, F(1, 259) = 7.125, p = .008, with an R2_of

.027. Next, I checked whether self-transcendent values did positively affect PEB. A simple linear regression was conducted to predict PEB based on the importance of self-transcendent values. A positive significant regression equation was found β = .517, F(1, 259) = 94.375, p = .000, with an R2_{of .267. The linear regression analyses confirmed previous research done on}

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3.4 Pro-environmental tourism

Next, the extension to pro-environmental tourism was tested. First, the direct relationship between the manipulated awe and PET was tested. A One-Way ANOVA analysis was conducted with the movie condition as the independent variable and the PET scale as the dependent variable. This analysis revealed that the effect of the manipulated awe (M = 30.04; SD = 9.40) on PET was not significantly different, F(2, 258) = .668, p = .513, from the other two conditions (Amusement: M = 28.48; SD = 8.75; Neutral: M = 29.11; SD = 8.27),

Second, I tested whether the actually experienced awe, rather than the manipulated awe, had an effect on PET. A simple linear regression was conducted to predict the

engagement in PET based on the experienced awe. A positive significant regression equation was found β = .189, F(1, 259) = 9.585, p = .002, with an R2_{of .036. Thus, 3.6% of the}

variance in engaging in PET can be explained by experiencing awe. Although the

manipulated awe did not have an effect on PET, the experienced awe did have a significant effect on PET. Within this research, the focus is on the experienced awe. Therefore, the linear regression analysis based on the experienced awe confirmed hypothesis 2.

Next, the relationship between self-transcendent values and PET was tested. A simple linear regression was conducted to predict the engagement in PET based on the importance of self-transcendent values. A positive significant regression equation was found β = .398, F(1,259) = 48.614, p = .000, with an R2_{of 0.158. Thus, 15.8% of the variance in engaging in}

PET can be explained by the importance of self-transcendent values. The linear regression analysis based on the importance of self-transcendent values confirmed hypothesis 1.

3.5 Mediation

Next, the mediation effect of the experienced awe and the self-transcendent values was tested by using the Preacher and Hayes’ bootstrap method PROCESS model 6, a serial mediation. This analysis was based on X = movie conditions awe vs. neutral; mediation 1= experienced awe; mediation 2= self-transcendent values; and Y= PET.

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The bias-corrected 95% confidence interval of the described serial mediation effect (movie condition  experienced awe  self-transcendent values  PET) does not include zero (.0294 - .2236) and is thus significant. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that the bias-corrected 95% confidence interval included zero for the total effect (-.1965 - .4047) and the direct effect (-.5046 - .2033), so both effects are not significant. The relationship between the awe movie condition and PET is fully mediated via the experienced awe and self-transcendent values since there is no direct relation between the awe movie condition and PET, p = .402, t(166) = .840. This serial mediation analysis confirmed hypothesis 4.

Next, the analysis revealed that there is no significant direct relationship between the movie condition (awe vs. neutral) and self-transcendent values after controlling for the experienced awe, p = .870, t(167) = .164. The total effect of the awe-inducing video on self-transcendent values is significant, p = .025, t(168) = 2.269. This finding supports full mediation of the experienced awe on the relationship between the awe-inducing video and self-transcendent values. Next, the analysis revealed that there is no significant direct relationship between the experienced awe and PET after controlling for self-transcendent values, p = .240, t(166) = 1.180. The total effect of the experienced awe on PET is significant p = .002, t(259) = 3.096. This finding supports full mediation of self-transcendent values on the relationship between the experienced awe and PET.

Figure 3

Serial mediation effects

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3.6 Moderation

The movie condition was not included in this moderation analysis since it is not possible to do a serial mediation analysis including a moderator in PROCESS. The movie condition was not included because this variable had no significant effect on either self-transcendent values and PET. The Preacher and Hayes’ bootstrap method was used for testing moderated mediation, employing the SPSS macro PROCESS model 5. Thus, the analysis was based on X=

experienced awe; mediator = self-transcendent values; moderator = PET awareness; and Y= PET

The analysis revealed that there is a positive significant interaction effect of PET awareness on the relationship between awe and PET, β = .133, p = .008, t(256) = 2.636. The analysis revealed that a high level of awareness strengthens the direct effect of experiencing awe on PET to such a degree that this effect becomes significant even when controlling for self-transcendent values, β = .228, p = .002, t(256) = 3.207. The moderation effects for the different levels of PET awareness on the relationship between awe and PET are given in table 1. This analysis confirmed hypothesis 5.

Table 1

Moderation effects of the level of PET awareness on the relationship between awe and PET

Level of awareness P-value 95% confidence interval

Low .675 -.184 – .119

Medium .078 -.011 – .206

High .002*** .088 – .367

Figure 4

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3.7 Sensitivity check

All the analyses were repeated but this time the 29 participants that failed the attention check were also included. These analyses revealed no big differences between including or

excluding the 29 participants in most cases. Only the moderation analysis did show a difference. The moderation analysis including the 29 participants revealed a significant moderated effect between awe and PET not only for a high level of awareness, p = .000 (.130 - .395), but also for a medium level of awareness, p = .019 (.019 - .223). However, this does not change the overall conclusion of the results.

4. Discussion

4.1 General discussion

In this article different research disciplines were drawn together, ranging from environmental psychology to sustainable tourism. This article confirmed some past research on

pro-environmental behaviour. Specifically, this article confirmed the study of Davis (2016) by revealing that experiencing awe positively affects PEB. Furthermore, this research confirmed previous research done on the positive relationship between experiencing awe and self-transcendent values (Shiota et al., 2014). Finally, the positive effect of self-self-transcendent values on PEB was also confirmed (Karp, 1996; Schultz et al., 2005). This article extends the existing literature by arguing that self-transcendent values can also act as a mediator on the relationship between awe and pro-environmental behaviour, in particular pro-environmental tourism.

This research focused on the tourism industry and the need to develop this industry in pro-environmental manners. Compared to previous research in this field, this research

highlighted the consumer perspective of the pro-environmental tourism industry. In the existing PET literature there is a lack of attention on what consumer behaviour can be considered environmental. In this research, a measurement scale with items about pro-environmental tourism behaviour was developed to measure if consumers are likely to engage in pro-environmental tourism. My survey experiment, first of all, revealed that participants that experienced awe were more likely to engage in pro-environmental tourism. Second, I found that participants that experienced awe find self-transcendent values more important. Also, I found that participants that prioritised self-transcendent values are more likely to engage in pro-environmental tourism. Furthermore, my study revealed that the importance of self-transcendent values mediates the effect of experiencing awe on PET. Finally, this

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that were highly aware of PET. This is in line with the study of Miller et al. (2010) in which they mention that more awareness of PET is needed, but that this increased awareness does not necessarily lead to a change in behaviour. Research showed that in most cases, increases in awareness does not lead to pro-environmental behaviour (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). This research showed that awareness can be integrated in research on pro-environmental behaviour as a moderator rather than an independent variable. Overall, this research attempted to reduce the lack of attention on the consumer perspective within the pro-environmental tourism literature, by focusing on consumer behaviour in the tourism industry.

4.2 Limitations, implications and future research

Interestingly, my data showed a difference in the use of the manipulation of experiencing awe (the movie condition) as an IV compared to previous studies. Participants that saw the awe-inducing video experienced more awe than participants from the neutral and amusement condition. However, the manipulation of experiencing awe and the actual experienced awe did not have the same effects on PET. In fact, the experienced awe had a significant effect on both self-transcendence and PET, where the manipulated awe only had a significant effect on self-transcendence. This contradicts with the study of Piff et al. (2015) where they used the movie condition as the IV for the analyses. Indicating that in this research some participants from both the neutral and amusement condition must have experienced the emotion awe that causes the differences between the manipulated awe and the experienced awe. My data revealed that 4 participants in both the amusement and neutral condition highly experienced awe. These 8 participants possibly strengthened the effect that the experienced awe had on PET compared to the manipulated awe. However, it can be discussed if these participants truly experienced awe after seeing either the amusement or neutral video. Therefore, it can be questioned if using the manipulated awe as the basis for the analyses might have been more valid.

Another limitation of this study is the reliance on self-reported pro-environmental touristic behaviour, rather than observed behaviour. Steps were taken to reduce the risks of this research approach, like minimizing the social desirability bias. Future research might be necessary to observe the real behaviour of pro-environmental tourists.

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operators could try to induce awe via their communication channels to make customers more willing to buy their pro-environmental products. Tour operators are identified as the central players in the mass tourism industry, they have an important role in making positive

contributions to environmental sustainability. However, they are facing a lack of incentives to undertake the necessary actions (Budeanu, 2005). They are also facing the difficulty that individual consumers can make their own choices regarding “green tourism”. Hedlund (2011) found that when consumers consciously chose for an environmental friendly touristic product, they were more willing to accept the economic sacrifices to protect the environment.

Arguably this might result in a social dilemma, in which some tourists are willing to pay more for environmental friendly products while others keep harming the environment. Future research will be necessary to focus on this social aspect of pro-environmental behaviour in the tourism industry.

I first recommend the tourism industry to focus on making the consumers more aware of pro-environmental tourism. The awe-inducing marketing campaign will have a stronger effect if consumers are aware of PET. My data revealed that the average awareness level of pro-environmental tourism is a 3.6 on a 7 point scale. In fact, 83 participants were not at all aware of PET. This indicates that there is room for improvement. The UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) is responsible for the promotion of sustainable, responsible and universally accessible tourism. Two of their priorities are: promoting sustainable tourism development and fostering knowledge, education and capacity building. If you look closely at these priorities, they are focused on touristic companies. These companies should exchange their knowledge about sustainable tourism to their customers. However, as my data revealed consumers are not that aware yet of the pro-environmental tourism industry.

Barr (2007) separated our general environmental knowledge from behavioural

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airplane tickets or charge carbon taxes, tourists will then notice that the carbon footprints of flights are a major problem. The government can also play a role in making consumers more aware of PET. For example, they can subsidise consumers that go on a “green holiday” by giving them an extra day off from work. Future research is necessary to find out which options work best for making consumers more aware of pro-environmental tourism.

4.3 Conclusion

This survey-based study began with confirming previous research on the relationship between awe and environmental behaviour. It extended previous research by focusing on environmental tourism and by adding a consumer perspective. This research revealed that pro-environmental tourism is strongly affected by the experience of awe. This positive

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The positive effect of awe on pro-environmental tourism via self-transcendent values

The positive effect of awe on pro-environmental

tourism via self-transcendent values

The positive effect of awe on pro-environmental

tourism via self-transcendent values

Table of contents