Values and tourists' sustainable behaviours: An overview of studies and discussion of some theoretical, methodological and management issues

This conceptual paper offers a theoretical and methodological analysis on the use of values for understanding and managing tourists' environmentally sustainable choices. The aim is to provide a deeper discussion of the limits identified by recent reviews of the literature and to suggest additional ones. Moreover, we show how research in social and environmental psychology can help tourism scholars and practitioners to deal more effectively with them. Particular attention is paid to identifying the key aspects that characterize the different concepts and measures of values that are relevant to this topic. Suggestions for improving the effective use of this construct for research and management applications are provided. Possible avenues for consolidating, as well as broadening, the theoretical and practical foundations of this concept's use in the domain of tourists' sustainable behaviour are also discussed. •The literature on the role of values in tourists' sustainable choices has recently been increasing.•Values represent important factors in understanding tourists' sustainable choices.•Values represent important indirect antecedents of human behaviour.•The social-psychological studies on values can help overcome many of the limits recorded in the tourism literature.•New perspectives on how to use values for practical applications distinguish working on from working with values