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F.acT: Why is this topic relevant for the Tyrolean tourism industry?
Johanna Bruckner: Tyrol is economically heavily dependent on tourism. It is therefore crucial to understand how young people travel today and how their travel behavior will develop in the future. Generation Z will become one of the most important groups of guests in the coming years and sustainability plays an important role in their everyday lives. At the same time, scientific discussions show that there is often a discrepancy between sustainable attitudes and actual behavior.
For Tyrol, this means that if the tourism industry wants to become more sustainable in the long term, it must understand which factors influence the behavior of this target group. On this basis, offers, mobility solutions and communication strategies can be developed that are accepted by Generation Z and contribute to more sustainable tourism development.
F.acT: What methodological approach did you use in your work?
Johanna Bruckner: Since theory-based hypotheses were to be tested, the work is based on a quantitative research approach. For this purpose, a standardized online survey was conducted among 244 members of Generation Z in the DACH region in order to investigate the relationships between attitudes, normative processes and sustainable travel behavior.
The aim of the study was to analyze the phenomenon of the "attitude-behaviour gap" in sustainable tourism, in particular what role attitudes, knowledge and personal norms play in behavior and to what extent sustainable everyday habits are transferred to the tourism context.
Using correlation and regression analyses, significant correlations between attitudes and travel behavior, knowledge and attitudes as well as personal norms and attitudes were identified.
F.acT: What are the core results of your work and what significance do they have for tourist destinations and businesses?
Johanna Bruckner: The study shows that there is a partial attitude-behavior gap (ABG) among Generation Z: positive attitudes towards sustainability measures do not automatically lead to sustainable travel behavior. Environmentally sustainable behavior is more strongly influenced by attitudes than socio-economic behavior. Personal norms have the greatest influence on attitudes and thus have an indirect effect on behavior, while social norms have both a direct and indirect effect. Knowledge, especially general environmental knowledge, also strengthens sustainable attitudes. Despite positive attitudes, the number of vacation trips is not reduced and the choice of means of transportation is only weakly related to sustainable attitudes. Overall, attitudes alone are not a reliable predictor of sustainable travel behavior.
For tourist destinations and businesses, this means that sustainable offers should be easily accessible, attractive and affordable. At the same time, information on sustainability should be communicated in a targeted manner and personal values of travelers should be addressed in order to actually convert positive attitudes into sustainable behavior.
F.acT: What specific recommendations for action do you make in your Master's thesis?
Johanna Bruckner:
- Target group-oriented knowledge transfer: social media, low-threshold formats, gamified content or apps strengthen attitudes and indirectly sustainable behavior.
- Affordable and accessible offers: Discounts, combined offers or flexible price and bonus models take into account the price sensitivity of Generation Z.
- Linking everyday and travel habits: Workshops, online platforms or participation formats promote personal norms and sustainable practices.
In this way, positive attitudes can be translated into actual sustainable behavior and offers can be established in the long term.