Investigating tourists' intention toward green hotels in Malaysia: a direction on tourist sustainable consumption

Abstract

International tourists in Malaysia have been playing a significant role in the economy. However, tourists' consumption of natural resources could be a threat to the environment. Green practices in the hotel industry have triggered a great opportunity to save water and energy consumption and maintain sustainable practices in the tourism and hospitality industries. This is a study on international tourists' intention to visit green hotels in Malaysia with related factors such as green availability, green price sensitivity, attitude, and subjective norm. For data collection, the researchers used self-administered questionnaires and distributed them to international tourists in Malaysia. For the analysis, structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied for analysis. Results found that green price sensitivity, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control positively influence tourists' intention to visit green hotels in Malaysia. Attitude also mediated between green price sensitivity and tourists' intention to visit green hotels in Malaysia. This study has shown the novelty by establishing the relationships among variables and contributing to the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which will benefit future researchers. The study posed several recommendations for practitioners as there is a need to maintain appropriate standards of environmentally friendly practices in hotels, and consumers' support for consuming green-related products impacts their survival, growth, and sustainability. It will help hotel managers learn more about their guests and create more effective marketing plans.