School of Business and Law Pro-environmental Behaviour of Tourists PhD Scholarship

This project explores the pro-environmental behaviour of tourists, its antecedents/predictors and the differences across gender and generations. Despite many previous studies on pro-environmental behaviour in the context of tourism and hospitality, several gaps have been remained unaddressed. The Attitude – Behaviour and Intention – Actual behaviour are two main gaps, which this project aims to focus. A new theoretical lens and innovative research design needs to be applied to overcome theoretical and methodological challenges highlighted by previous studies to investigate tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour.

Previous studies have highlighted the environmental impacts of tourism in destinations and determined pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) of tourists as one of the key factors to achieve sustainable tourism. In addition, pro-environmental behaviour of tourists can be linked to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Due to importance of this concept, many studies using various theories and designs have been conducted to understand the tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour, and antecedents/determinants in hospitality and tourism, in particular in recent years. However, the findings from most of recent studies show a significant gap between Attitude and Behaviour, and also Behavioural Intention and Actual Behaviour. Previous studies showed that the individuals with strong positive attitude toward preserving environment are not necessarily willing to scarify their enjoyment in their trips and their behaviour is inconsistent with their attitudes. In addition, majority of previous studies have focused on behavioural intention using cross-sectional design instead of actual behaviour. Moreover, recent literature highlighted the significant differences of PEB across gender and generations (e.g. Gen Z, Gen Y and Gen X), which shows the importance of these comparisons in the context of sustainable tourism studies. This project aims to fill these significant gaps by applying a longitudinal design using mixed-methods approach and experiment.

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must;

• Have an undergraduate degree in hospitality and tourism or a related discipline and a degree that would enable entry into the PhD program (e.g. an honours degree featuring an additional year of study or a Masters degree with a significant research component).
• Meet the entry requirements in terms of English language proficiency.

• Capacity to develop a project proposal that aligns with the tourism focus outlined in the project brief
• Evidence of excellent interpersonal, communication and scientific writing skills
• Evidence of publications in top tier journals
• Evidence of research level English language proficiency
• Have relevant experience in quantitative and/or qualitative analysis
• Have knowledge or a keen interest in researching tourism issues

• Please refer to the full project guide to craft your project proposal.
• Please email a project proposal of 800-1,000 words (plus references) pertaining to this project (Pro-environmental Behaviour of Tourists),
• your CV, academic transcripts and an expression of interest outlining your motivation for applying for this scholarship in 300 words (+/- 10%) to sblresearch@ecu.edu.au

Applicants will be shortlisted for an in-person/online interview which will be held in early November.

For questions about this scholarship and informal enquiries please email Mostafa Rasoolimanesh and Peter Galvin