Tiêu đề Analyzing generation Z's intentions to support sustainable tourism development in Nha Trang ✅

1. Introduction While Vietnam has high opportunity for ecotourism with its abundant natural and cultural resources, achieving sustainable tourism, which more broadly entails ecological preservation, human welfare, intergenerational equity and community engagement (Schaefer and Crane, 2005; Nguyen et al., 2019; WHO, 1998), is still plagued by uncontrollably rapid economic growth, limited innovation and poor resource management. In this context, Nha Trang coastal city (Figure 1) is a prime example. In 2023, tourism in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province, increased tourists and money, boosting Vietnam’s economy and society (Trung Nhan, 2023; Thanh Giang, 2023). However, this rapid development has also brought about challenges in natural resources exploitation, environmental management or tourism products quality that forced the city’s authorities to timely devise sustainable initiatives. Therefore, this study investigates Nha Trang’s sustainable tourist development to strike a balance between economic growth and sustainable development. Literature has indicated the tourism industry is leaning toward sustainable advantages and growth (Palacios-Florencio et al., 2021) in which young tourists are centered. Studies have revealed that their sustainable engagement is influenced by either cognitive or emotional factors, such as personal beliefs, societal impacts and perceived sustainability messaging (Tölkes, 2020; Erul et al., 2020; Kasim and Wickens, 2020). In Vietnam, experts have also forecast a surge in sustainable tourism, with a survey indicating 94% of young tourists were willing to pay more for sustainable services (Nhu Bịnh, 2023). Among such young people, Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1997 and 2012, was crucially focused in this study. Different from other generations, they are notable for their long-term commitment, environmental and social responsibility, open- mindedness and especially, sustainability preferences (Sakdiyakorn et al., 2021; Ding et al., 2022; Schenarts, 2020; Turner, 2015). However, limited studies have empirically examined Gen Z travelers’ behaviors (Salinero et al., 2022; Ding et al., 2022), especially in sustainability; Figure 1. Nha Trang tourism map JGR
therefore, conducting this study concerning Gen Z is crucial for bridging the literature gap and advancing sustainable tourism. In addition, despite several studies on sustainable behavior in general, the factors that drive individuals’sustainable tourism supportive intentions are still little understood (Erul et al., 2020; Megeirhi et al., 2020; Ashraf et al., 2020; Shen and Shen, 2021). Besides, these studies have provided in-depth insights into sustainable practices, yet, young people’s awareness and sustainable tourism support are uncertain. This study aims to bridge this gap by collectively examining Gen Z’s knowledge, attitudes and perceptions on sustainable tourism support based on predictors’ interplay investigations and theories applications. This study addresses the following research questions (RQs): RQ1: What is the mechanism behind young people’s intention to support sustainable tourism in Vietnam (directly and indirectly)? RQ2: What is the role of knowledge in driving young people’s intention to support sustainable tourism in Vietnam? This study contributes theoretically by exploring the attitudinal and perceptual mechanisms behind Vietnamese Gen Z tourists’ sustainable tourism supporting intentions. It also offers new insights into such sustainable behavior with a notable finding of knowledge negatively moderating the relationship between sustainable tourism attitude and intention to support sustainable tourism. These findings aim to propose practical strategies for the tourism operators in Nha Trang and other destinations, which are on their way toward sustainability. 2. Literature review 2.1 Theoretical backgrounds and intention to support sustainable tourism The theory of planned behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991), has long been a core framework in social sciences for understanding human behavior. Recent research has added additional factors such as community attachment, involvement with natural resources (Orgaz-Agüera et al., 2022), destination image and beliefs (Luong, 2023) to the TPB to explain tourists behavior. This study followed Luong (2023), with a view to examining the attitudinal and perceptual mechanisms behind Gen Z’s supportive intentions towards sustainable tourism. This study framed “Intention to Support Sustainable Tourism” – our core outcome – based on the predefined “Ecotourism Intention” concept – the behavioral intentions to visit environmentally friendly sites (Pham and Khanh, 2021). Therefore, we defined “Intention to Support Sustainable Tourism” as the willingness to promote ecological protection, human well-being, intergenerational justice and community participation. 2.2 Hypotheses development and research model 2.2.1 Sustainable tourism attitude. Ajzen (1991) defined attitude as an individual’s positive or negative assessments of performing a specific behavior. It arises from a combination of beliefs about potential outcomes and the subjective value placed on these expected outcomes (Manosuthi et al., 2020). According to Ajzen and Kruglanski (2019), attitude toward a behavior is an important factor that affects a person’s behavioral intentions. On the basis of this concept, we integrated Attitude into the research model to identify its impact on Intention to Support Sustainable Tourism and its interrelation to other constructs in driving the behavioral intentions. Besides, we also based on the definitions of “Environmental Attitude” to form “Sustainable Tourism Attitude.” Research shows that there is a positive relationship between environmental attitudes and behaviors (Policarpo and Aguiar, 2020; Journal of Global Responsibility