The transformation of the tourism industry to ensure more sustainable consumption and production practices also requires the transformation of tourists. Tourism is assumed to possess the potential for cathartic experiences that can positively influence individual transformation. This individual transformation is often overlooked in the sustainability debate. As tourists can accelerate system transformation and contribute to the fulfilment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, more research is needed to understand individual transformation. This conceptual paper puts tourists into the spotlight and adopts a sociopsychological lens to explore how experience-based reflexivity can contribute to individual transformation towards sustainable travel. We argue that two interrelated perspectives are needed as analytical tools, i.e. process and systemic perspectives, and propose two models: The Reflected-Self-Model and the Reflexive-Agent-Model. We suggest that reflection needs to be understood as a critical component in building awareness and changing attitudes, actions, and practices that translate into individual transformation. With the limitations of this conceptual paper in mind, several thought-provoking avenues for future research are proposed. We argue that more research is needed that investigates intermediate stages in the attitude–behaviour gap, bridges individual and system transformation, integrates experiences in travel and home environments, and explores individual resilience.

The tourism industry was seen as one of the main beneficiaries of globalisation prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, while tourism is a major driver of economic growth and social well-being, a transformation of the industry towards more sustainable practices along the tourism supply chain (TSC) is needed to ensure that sustainable development goals can be reached. As sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices are critical for this transformation, the present study maps previous research on SSCM in tourism within a systematic literature review. Based on an analysis of 44 peer-reviewed journal papers, we found a strong emphasis on tour operators, hotels, and transport providers being concerned with practicing SSCM while actors managing the destination (e.g., Destination Management Organizations) have rarely been studied. Sustainability practices in TSCs can be enhanced by linking traditional and non-traditional actors on the multiple tiers and levels of a tourist destination. We accordingly propose potential research avenues to stimulate future research activities.

Consumption paradoxes create challenges for truly sustainable production and consumption practices across industries. This is also visible in tourism. Although today’s consumers have a greater consciousness of their own environmental footprints, demand for leisure travel appears insatiable as expressed in constantly growing international tourism until 2019. With the aim to achieve transformation towards more sustainability in future tourism, the lens has turned towards the consumer’s central role in the fulfilment of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This article puts experienced tourists into the spotlight and aims to explore whether and how the experienced tourist’s desire for eudaemonic and immersive experiences can contribute to more sustainable travel patterns. It adopts a supply-demand perspective through a mixed-methods research design implemented in Germany and New Zealand. Results demonstrate that tourists with higher self-assessed experience levels are more likely to travel for eudaemonic reasons and adopt sustainable travel patterns compared to less experienced tourists. This article argues that experienced tourists are central in the transformation towards more sustainable tourism futures and that a better understanding of them is needed. These novel insights advance theory and practice, contributing to closing existing knowledge gaps related to sustainable consumption in a tourism context.

Given that cruise line companies are rushing to restart their operations with modified dining services, the aim of this research is to establish a conceptual framework that precisely outlines female passengers’ behavioral intentions towards dining on cruise ships in the time of the COVID-19 crisis. It does so by extending the theory of reasoned action (TRA) by including the social servicescape of the cruise ship dining experiencescape (stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) paradigm) and perceived health risk from COVID-19 (the prospect theory). The developed theoretical framework based on this tripartite approach has predictive power for intentions. Its effectiveness and comprehensiveness are also demonstrated. Despite the positive effect of the social servicescape on attitude and emotions and the positive attitude of female cruise travelers, the negative effect of the perceived health risk from COVID-19 appears to be the dominant factor that ultimately discourages the behavioral intentions of female cruise passengers towards dining on a cruise ship in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research provides a crucial guiding framework that helps cruise academics and operators to maximize existing and potential passengers’ favorable decisions and behaviors for cruise ship dining.

From the fluidity of the experience economy to transformative experiences as a catalyst for positive change: the future of experiential travel