Advances in Tourism Studies

Perceived Greenwashing and Consumer Responses in Hospitality

2025-10-25T08:13:35+00:00

This study examines the impact of perceived greenwashing on consumer trust, authenticity, satisfaction, and booking intentions in the hospitality industry, with a cross-national comparison between Taiwan and Indonesia. While hotels increasingly adopt sustainability-oriented marketing, the credibility of these claims is often questioned. A structured survey of 428 hotel guests in Taiwan and 462 in Indonesia was conducted to measure perceptions of greenwashing and related consumer responses. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with multi-group analysis. The results demonstrate that perceived greenwashing significantly reduces consumer trust and authenticity, which subsequently diminish satisfaction and booking intentions. Mediation analysis confirmed that both trust and authenticity serve as critical psychological mechanisms transmitting the negative effects of greenwashing to satisfaction outcomes. Multi-group analysis revealed that Taiwanese consumers are more skeptical toward vague sustainability claims, whereas Indonesian consumers exhibit stronger declines in loyalty once trust is compromised. These findings advance greenwashing research by integrating signaling and skepticism theories with authenticity perspectives, while also highlighting the role of cultural and institutional contexts in shaping consumer responses. Practically, the study emphasizes the importance of transparent, verifiable, and authentic sustainability communication for hotels seeking to maintain credibility and secure long-term customer loyalty across diverse markets.

Sustainable Tourism at the Edge of Biodiversity

2025-11-15T03:39:04+00:00

Marine protected areas (MPAs) in Indonesia, such as Raja Ampat and Wakatobi, have become internationally recognized for their biodiversity and as ecotourism destinations. While tourism has been promoted as a mechanism to finance conservation and generate local income, little is known about how resident communities perceive and navigate the tensions between ecological protection and livelihood needs. This study employs a qualitative research design to examine community narratives of sustainable tourism within MPAs. Data were collected through ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, semi-structured interviews with fishermen, homestay owners, and dive guides, as well as focus group discussions with community leaders. Thematic analysis reveals that residents often view tourism as both an opportunity for economic diversification and a source of restrictions on traditional livelihoods, particularly fishing. Narratives highlight ambivalence, as communities’ articulate pride in contributing to global conservation while simultaneously voicing concerns about exclusion, inequitable benefit distribution, and cultural change. The findings underscore that sustainable tourism in MPAs cannot be reduced to visitor management or ecological indicators alone. Instead, it must incorporate local voices and participatory governance to achieve equitable and resilient conservation outcomes.

Authenticity and the Formation of Culinary Destination Brand Commitment

2025-11-26T12:37:49+00:00

This study examines how perceived authenticity shapes brand equity, emotional attachment, brand loyalty, and brand choice intention in South Sulawesi’s culinary tourism. Although authenticity is widely recognised as a central attribute of gastronomic experiences, the mechanisms through which it influences cognitive, affective, and behavioural outcomes remain insufficiently clarified. This research employs a simplified theoretical model integrating Consumer Based Brand Equity theory and Attachment Theory to explain how authentic culinary encounters generate long term engagement with regional food identities. Data were collected from 214 domestic tourists who had consumed traditional South Sulawesi cuisine within the past twelve months. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the proposed relationships. The findings show that perceived authenticity significantly enhances brand equity, which in turn fosters emotional attachment. Emotional attachment emerges as the strongest predictor of brand loyalty, and loyalty directly drives brand choice intention. The results also reveal direct effects of authenticity on both attachment and loyalty, indicating that authentic experiences can produce immediate affective and behavioural responses independent of cognitive appraisals. These insights contribute to the literature by demonstrating a coherent cognitive to affective to behavioural pathway through which authenticity strengthens culinary destination brands. Practical implications highlight the importance of preserving cultural integrity to support sustainable tourism development.

How MICE Experience Quality Shapes Destination Image through Dual Pathways

2025-11-10T23:14:10+00:00

This study investigates how experience quality at a major MICE event shapes post-trip destination image by testing the mediating role of satisfaction within the emerging tourism setting of Lake Toba, Indonesia. Using survey data from 413 attendees of the Aqua Bike World
Championship and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling, the analysis demonstrates that experience quality significantly enhances satisfaction and directly improves destination image. Satisfaction also exerts a strong positive influence on destination image and partially mediates the relationship between experience quality and image. These findings validate a dual pathway model in which affective processes operate through satisfaction, while cognitive processes allow objective event attributes to shape destination image independently. The study advances theoretical understanding of MICE experience formation by demonstrating concurrent emotional and rational mechanisms. Practical implications highlight the need for planners to strengthen both experiential and functional quality elements to enhance Indonesia’s competitiveness as a growing MICE destination.

From service quality to loyalty and economic behaviour in food delivery platforms

2025-12-22T07:30:03+00:00

This study examines how service quality shapes user perceptions and behavioural outcomes in online food delivery platforms by analysing the interrelationships among service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and economic behaviour. Using a structural equation modelling partial least squares approach, data were collected from 320 active users of major delivery applications in Indonesia. The findings demonstrate that service quality significantly enhances both perceived value and satisfaction, which subsequently strengthen loyalty. Customer loyalty is further shown to influence economic behaviour reflected in repeat usage and higher spending intentions. Mediation analyses reveal that perceived value and satisfaction operate as key psychological mechanisms transmitting the influence of service quality toward loyalty. These results contribute to foodservice business research by clarifying cognitive and affective pathways within the digital delivery context and offering actionable managerial implications for platform providers seeking to cultivate sustainable user engagement