Do young sustainable tourists build better relationships with destinations?

Authors

  • Mitsuru Sato Associate Professor of the Faculty of Regional Management, The University of Fukuchiyama, Japan.
  • Ruethai Onbhuddha Research Assistant of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand, and PhD Student at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Energy Sciences, Japan
  • Bingying Ma MEXT Government-sponsored International Student of the Graduate School of Energy Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
  • Seiichi Ogata Associate Professor of Kyoto University's Graduate School of Energy Sciences, Japan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2024.v13n2p375

Keywords:

sustainable tourism, destination management, sustainable tourist, youth tourism

Abstract

Sustainable tourists play a crucial role in achieving sustainable tourism in destinations. Previous studies have identified a segment of sustainability-friendly tourists. In recent years, some studies have focused on the youth generation as sustainable tourists. It is a useful strategy for destinations to build better relationships with sustainable youth tourists in order to construct a competitive advantage in the long term. However, it remains unclear that the characteristics and behaviors of young sustainable tourists and how they relate to destinations. The aim of this study is to examine sustainable young generation tourists who contribute to a destination’s sustainability. The study was based on data from a web-based survey of Japanese respondents aged between 20 and 39 years, who had experienced domestic travel. We conducted exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis and identified a segment of sustainable youth tourists. The intention to build relationships with destinations was analyzed using the chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The results confirmed that young sustainable tourists were highly loyal to the destinations they visited and intended to involve the destination after their trip. They are actors who actively seek to increase the sustainability of their destinations.

 Keywords: sustainable tourism, destination management, sustainable tourist, youth tourism, tourist loyalty

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Published

2024-06-01

How to Cite

Sato, M. ., Onbhuddha, R. ., Ma, B. ., & Ogata, S. . (2024). Do young sustainable tourists build better relationships with destinations?. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 13(2), 375. https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2024.v13n2p375

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Articles