Tourism

Green Tourism in Switzerland: Who Are the Sustainable Tourists and What Drives Their Behavior?

The project aims to understand how Swiss tourists adopt sustainable behaviors, classify them into typical groups, analyze their profile and importance, and then help professionals better target and enhance their sustainable offers according to these groups.

Start & End Date

01/01/2023 - 30/06/2024

Main Applicant

Fuchs, M., EHL Hospitality Business School

Partner

Clergue, V., EHL Hospitality Business School

External Funding

HES-SO

Green Tourists: Attitudinal and Behavioral Sustainable Tourist Segments for Switzerland

Project Description

Whereas the topic of sustainability was more a matter of choice years ago, it has now become a must for countries, companies, and consumers. Consumers are also becoming increasingly interested in ensuring that their holiday experiences are undertaken sustainably. According to extant research, one of the initial stages of encouraging sustainable tourism should be understanding tourists’ perceptions of sustainability. Therefore, companies seeking to offer a sustainable offer need to understand what consumers mean and thus look for. Additionally, it is important to know each consumer group’s motivation to behave sustainably. This will allow hospitality players to better target their current and potential customers not only with their offers but also with their communication.

The objective of this project are to:

Identify sustainable consumer behaviors in the different hospitality domains (accommodation,
restaurants, transportation, activities, destinations and locations, wellness, and cruises).
On the basis of our findings, identify different tourist segments and the drivers for their varying behaviors.
Outline each segment in terms of demographic characteristics including socio-economic variables.This includes estimating the size – and economic importance – of each segment for the Swiss market.
Lastly, we aim to use the descriptions of these segments to make detailed recommendations to actors in the space regarding the structuring, the communication and the monetization of their offering.

EHL Blog Insights

The 7 Segments of Sustainable Tourists in Switzerland

Sustainable consumer behavior in hospitality encompasses actions that help preserve the environment, such as green purchasing, recycling and conserving natural resources. In the tourism context, this includes actions such as buying local products, saving water, reusing towels, conserving energy and reducing food waste. However, these behaviors and their motivations can vary significantly among different consumer groups. This makes it very difficult for hospitality actors to create sustainable offers – as what “sustainable” means varies between tourists and whether they will buy it or pay more for it is another under-researched question.

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Our Team

Dr. Matthias Fuchs

Assistant Professor

Dr. Matthias Fuchs is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at EHL and serves as the Director of the Institute for Customer Experience Management. He researches digital customer behavior, product and service configurators, and customer feedback, and his work has been published in top-tier business journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research (ABS 4*, VHB A+, FT50) and the Journal of Business Ethics (FT50). He works closely with globally renown luxury brands (e.g., Audemars Piguet) and his work is featured in outlets like the New York Times, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Economic Times, and others.

Dr. Valentina Clergue

Assistant Professor

Valentina Clergue, PhD, is an experienced senior researcher with interests pertaining to branding, advertising, and sustainable consumption, teaching courses in Marketing, Brand Management and E-Marketing at EHL. In addition, she worked in the advertising industry for more than five years.