04/08/2025
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Keywords: Green tourism, youth generation, students, consumer behaviour, sustainable development, responsible tourism.
In the challenging days when the world grappled with the pandemic, the longing to breathe fresh air and explore nature became more intense than ever. These moments truly impressed upon us the invaluable worth of nature. As life gradually returns to normalcy, people are seeking meaningful experiences – and green tourism quickly emerged as a prominent trend, especially among the youth. However, translating awareness of green tourism into concrete action remains a complex issue. To delve deeper into this enigma, a group of students from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) undertook research on the topic "Factors Influencing UEH Students' Intention to Participate in Green Tourism."
For individuals, travel offers experiences and joy, helping to alleviate life's pressures. For the economy, tourism is a sector with immense potential, creating jobs and generating substantial revenue. However, tourism can also impose heavy burdens on the environment if left unchecked. Images of trash-strewn beaches, bleached coral reefs, or ecosystems disrupted by human intervention are all too common. Unfortunately, many of these are direct consequences of irresponsible tourism.
In this context, green tourism emerges as an inevitable solution to the challenge of harmonious economic and environmental development. These are journeys that not only satisfy travellers' desire for exploration but also respect nature, preserve local culture, and contribute positively to local communities.
Despite the growing popularity of the green tourism concept, translating awareness into concrete action remains a significant challenge, especially for young people. What truly motivates them? Is environmental goodwill alone sufficient, or do factors such as cost, time, and convenience still pose decisive barriers? This research by the UEH student group was undertaken to seek answers to these concerns, painting a comprehensive picture of the deep-seated motivations driving UEH students' intention to choose green tourism – representing a dynamic, knowledgeable, and potentially transformative generation.
Theory of Planned Behaviour: The key to understanding green tourism intentions
In this study, the authors applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour – one of the most widely recognised and effective tools for analysing psychology and behaviour.
This model considers three core factors to predict the intention to participate in green tourism: Attitude: Encompasses an individual's feelings and evaluations of green tourism. Attitude will be positive if the individual believes that green tourism offers superior experiences and benefits the environment.
Subjective Norms: Refers to social pressure from those around. The likelihood of performing the behaviour increases if family, friends, and other influential individuals support and encourage green tourism.
Perceived Behavioural Control: Represents the belief in one's ability to perform the action. This factor measures self-confidence and practical conditions such as time, finances, and opportunities.
According to this theory, when all three factors converge positively – that is, a favourable attitude, community support, and a sense of self-efficacy – the intention to perform the behaviour becomes exceptionally strong, significantly increasing the likelihood of actual action. Applying this model to the Vietnamese context, with students as the target group, has yielded invaluable insights.
Factors shaping the youth’s travel decisions
*Attitude: The pivotal factor in shaping behavioural intentions
Psychological analysis results have demonstrated that individual attitude is the pivotal factor, exerting the strongest impact on students' intention to choose green tourism. Individuals' beliefs and subjective evaluations of this type of tourism play a decisive role. Green tourism is not merely perceived by students as a purely recreational activity, but also as a deeply meaningful experience intertwined with social responsibility.
Students perceive green tourism to bring numerous practical benefits: Firstly, it contributes to maintaining air quality, water sources, and natural landscapes. Secondly, this form of tourism also supports the sustainable development of the regional economy, bringing direct benefits to local communities. Thirdly, green tourism helps broaden understanding of resource conservation and natural, cultural values. Finally, it offers unique, profound, and memorable journeys.
Therefore, green tourism is not seen as a trade-off or a less appealing option. Instead, its appeal stems from the core values it provides: knowledge, responsibility, and rich experiences.
*Subjective Norms: The catalytic role of social pressure
Alongside a positive attitude, subjective norms are identified as a significant factor influencing students' intention to choose green tourism. The study indicates that UEH students' decisions are not entirely independent but are influenced by their social environment.
This finding suggests that when green tourism is widely adopted and promoted within the community, it will quickly shape a positive social norm, creating a strong ripple effect. Thus, encouragement from close individuals is considered a crucial driving force to translate intention into action.
*Perceived Behavioural Control: Challenges from practical barriers
However, the journey from intention to concrete action is not always smooth; it is consistently accompanied by certain barriers. The third factor – perceived behavioural control – reflects the practical challenges students may face. Although attitude and support from their social circle can strengthen the belief in realising green tourism trips, when considering issues such as limited time, financial constraints, or a lack of suitable opportunities, this level of confidence tends to decrease. This emphasises that, in addition to individual enthusiasm and societal support, resource barriers remain a significant challenge that needs to be addressed to translate intention into action.
Other Findings from the Analysis
In addition to the three core factors of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the study also reveals other noteworthy findings related to students' demographic characteristics, thereby painting a more multifaceted portrait of young travellers.
A noteworthy observation is that students with higher incomes (over 5 million VND/month) tend to exhibit a lower intention to participate in green tourism compared to other income groups. One hypothesis, also a potential direction for future research, suggests that this group of students may spend more time on part-time jobs or other income-generating activities, thus limiting their time and focus for planning meticulous trips like green tourism. This suggests that for young people, financial factors are not the sole determinants; time and personal priorities also play crucial roles.
Another significant finding is that the intention for green tourism varies distinctly depending on travel companions. Students who travel with family, relatives, or friends tend to choose green tourism significantly more often than those who prefer to explore alone. This reinforces the notion that green tourism is not just an individual experience but also a shared and connecting activity to collectively create positive value. This indicates that travelling with loved ones not only provides a sense of security and shared costs but also creates strong motivation to jointly explore sustainable values.
Summary of research findings
From the analyses above, the core characteristics of potential green tourism travellers can be summarised. A student will have the strongest intention to participate in green tourism when they possess a positive attitude and a deep belief in the values that green tourism brings, viewing it as a meaningful, appealing, and educational experience. Simultaneously, they receive support and encouragement from important people around them, such as family and friends. They also feel confident in their abilities and have relatively favourable conditions regarding time and opportunities, although these are not the sole determinants. Finally, they often travel with others, transforming the trip into a meaningful shared experience.
To promote the intention to participate in green tourism among young people, it is necessary to first influence their perceptions and beliefs, then build a supportive social environment, and finally remove practical barriers. Notably, this research model, combining Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioural Control, explained 55.7% of the variation in UEH students' intention to participate in green tourism. This figure not only confirms its reliability but also demonstrates the high practical value of this analytical framework.
Policy implications and practical guidance
The findings from this study offer important implications and practical guidance for stakeholders, from businesses to state management agencies, to promote sustainable green tourism development.
To foster positive attitudes towards green tourism, investment in product quality and innovative travel experiences is essential. This includes ensuring accommodation facilities adhere to rigorous environmental standards and integrating environmental protection into the travel experience. For instance, hotels could adopt energy-saving technologies, utilise recycled materials, and organise environmental education activities for guests.
Beyond product quality, effective communication is equally vital. Communication campaigns need to focus on conveying the educational value, responsibility, and unique experiences of green tourism. Utilising diverse communication channels and collaborating with influencers (KOLs, travel bloggers) can effectively disseminate messages to young people. Cultivating partnerships with local businesses to develop integrated green tourism packages, delivering authentic and sustainable experiences, is also necessary.
To promote subjective norms, strengthening education and raising community awareness about the benefits of green tourism are central. Concurrently, developing reputable evaluation and certification programmes will provide a basis for tourists to identify and choose environmentally friendly destinations, thereby leveraging the ripple effect of positive experiences.
To improve perceived behavioural control and mitigate practical barriers, green tourism solutions need to be simplified, cost-optimised, and time-efficient. Designing flexible packages suitable for students' financial capabilities and schedules is essential. For instance, short green tourism trips, affordable costs, or volunteer programmes combined with travel can attract a large number of students. Developing supporting infrastructure, including encouraging the use of environmentally friendly public transportation and establishing efficient waste management systems at destinations, is also a crucial factor.
Regarding support for small and medium-sized enterprises, policies should focus on making technology accessible and low-cost, including consulting and providing ready-made platforms to help them easily transition to the green tourism model.
Finally, the state needs to finalise the legal framework and issue specific incentive policies (financial, tax, expert connection) to create a favourable environment for businesses to transform and foster healthy competition and innovation in the green tourism sector.
Overall, this study not only provides profound insights into the motivations driving green tourism among young people but also opens up concrete directions for managers and businesses. Understanding students' attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioural control is key to shaping effective communication strategies and product development, thereby translating intention into actual action.
This work also indirectly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals. This clearly demonstrates the role of scientific research in building a greener and more sustainable future for the community. To learn more details about this work, readers can refer to the full research paper "Factors Influencing UEH Students' Intention to Participate in Green Tourism" HERE.
Authors: Dinh Quang Thai, Ta Kim Yen, Nguyen Duy Loc, Nguyen Thi Tham, Nguyen Vinh Hien, from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City.
This article is part of the Green Research Community series with the message "Research Contribution for UEH Living Lab Green Campus". We cordially invite you to follow the next Green Research Community newsletter.
*To maximise opportunities for the development of the “UEH Green Researchers Community,” members will be invited to join a scientific research methodology course focused on topics such as Living Labs and Green Campus. In addition, once a project meets the required standards, the research team will receive a Certificate from the UEH Sustainable University Initiative and financial support for one qualifying research proposal.
More information:
SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: This goal aims to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: This goal focuses on building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and fostering innovation.
SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: This goal emphasises the importance of global partnerships, from international to local levels, in mobilising financial, technological, and knowledge resources to achieve the other SDGs.
News, photos: UEH Green Campus Project, UEH Youth Union - Student Association, UEH Communications and Partnership Development Board
Voiceover: Thanh Kieu
