Green or red faces? Tourist strategies when encountering irresponsible environmental behavior

ABSTRACT Tourists’ green behavior plays a significant role in sustainable tourism development. Most of the previous research considered tourists exert green behavior independently, neglecting the influences of tourist-to-tourist interaction and the culture they are embedded in. This study took Chinese tourists visiting two lake tourism destinations (West Lake in Hangzhou and Xianshan Lake in Huzhou) as the research respondents and aimed to examine how tourist-to-tourist interaction within different relationships impact tourist on-site green behavior in Chinese face-culture settings. Based on a qualitative research approach using the critical incident technique, 76 incidents were investigated involving 29 Chinese tourists with different backgrounds. This research showed that the encounters among tourists were affected by the types of relationships (family, friends, and strangers) and Chinese face culture (the desire to gain face and the fear of losing face). The results contribute to the sustainable tourism literature by taking into consideration various types of social interactions, which positively or negatively affect green behavior. Fresh insights are revealed on how face consciousness influences Chinese social interactions and green behavior in tourism. The analysis of social interactions among tourists provides a new perspective for destination management organizations to enhance green behavior and improve sustainable management practices.