The research, led by from Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 茄子视频app官网 (UC) Business School, examined the environmental attitudes and behaviours of over 600 international visitors to Canterbury. The study compared four generations - Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z - using the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP)* to assess how age and generational identity shape sustainable travel practices.
The findings, published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, revealed that Gen Z visitors (those born between 1997 and 2012) were more likely to belong to 鈥淓nvironmental鈥 or 鈥淢ixed-Bag Environmental鈥 segments - groups that actively engage in sustainable behaviours such as saving resources and buying local food. However, the study also found notable differences within each generation, suggesting that sustainability values are not uniform across age groups.
鈥淥ur research challenges the assumption that younger generations are automatically more environmentally conscious and travel sustainably,鈥 says Professor Prayag. 鈥淲hile Gen Z travellers are more likely to demonstrate sustainable behaviours, our findings show that attitudes toward the environment are complex and influenced by more than just age or generational identity.鈥
Co-authored by UC colleagues and , with Adjunct Associate Professor Peter Fieger and Professor Michael Hall, the study offers valuable insights for local tourism operators, highlighting the need to tailor sustainability messages to different travellers rather than relying solely on generational trends.听
鈥淯nderstanding the diversity within each generation allows tourism operators to design more effective sustainability initiatives that resonate with travellers鈥 values and motivations,鈥 says Professor Prayag.
The findings are important because they can help tourism operators, businesses and policymakers design more effective sustainability initiatives that reflect the real attitudes and motivations of travellers, rather than relying on assumptions about age.
The study underscores the importance of moving beyond stereotypes to develop more inclusive and impactful approaches to promoting sustainable tourism so that Canterbury can continue to deliver outstanding tourism experiences to those who come to visit our region.
*The New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) is a framework used to understand how people perceive the relationship between humans and the natural world. Developed in the 1970s by Dunlap and Van Liere, it contrasts a human-centred view 鈥 that nature exists primarily for human use 鈥 with an ecological perspective that recognises humans as part of a finite, interconnected system. The NEP is widely used to assess attitudes toward environmental sustainability and responsibility.听听
