RESOURCES
RESOURCES: PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS
| Author : | Isabell Wulfsberg, Dirk Reiser, Volker Rundshagen & Nicolai Scherle |
|---|---|
| School/Work Place : | Cologne Business School, Germany; Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences; Business and Information Technology School (BITS) University of Applied Sciences. |
| Contact : | dirk.reiser@hochschule-rhein-waal.de |
| Year : | 2016 |
This
study investigates environmental attitudes and concerns of Germans tourists
towards climate change. Furthermore it analyses if there are attempts to
neutralise air travel emissions by means of voluntary carbon-offsetting. Past
research has indicated inconsistencies between tourists’ attitudes towards
climate change and a translation of those into corresponding travel behaviour.
In particular the willingness to compensate travel emissions has not obtained
much attention in the past. Since previous studies focused on countries like
Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong, there remains a need to
analyse whether the attitude-behaviour gap also accounts for German air
travellers. Quantitative data was collected by conducting structured face-to-face
interviews at the airport of Hamburg. The findings indicate that purchasers of
voluntary carbon-offsets are almost non-existent among German air travellers,
although they show a reasonable level of concerns when it comes to climate
change. However, this is rather a consequence of missing consumer awareness
since less than half of the respondents are familiar with the opportunity to
compensate travel emissions. Yet, the majority of the respondents show a
willingness to purchase carbon-offsets in future. The study concludes that
behavioural change in tourism mobility’s is not entirely dependent on moral
concerns about climate change. Profound improvements in consumer education and
communication are necessary to explain why and how tourists can make a difference.
