Does activating home place identity on vacation have the potential to alter environmentally significant tourist behaviour?

Are people a different version of themselves when they leave home to go on vacation? If so, what are the differences, and do they offer an opportunity to make tourists behave in more environmentally sustainable ways? We test whether home and vacation place identity activate different environmental self-perceptions. Across three studies, we show that home and vacation place identity differ significantly in self-descriptive attributes and reported environmental responsibility. Results suggest that tourists do not abandon environmental values but temporarily perceive themselves differently. Leveraging home place identity for altering pre-vacation booking decisions or activating home place identity during the vacation, therefore, offers promising new approaches supporting environmental responsibility. With tourism generating 8.8 % of all carbon emissions, the positive environmental impact of any behaviour change would be substantial.