An investigation on green attitudes and demographics: Understanding the intention of international tourists in Malaysia to pay a premium for green hotels

Abstract

Lodging industry is one of the most crucial segments that consume a large amount of non-renewable resources. The extant literature shows that a large number of hotels are conducting green performances to offset the shift in customers' buying behaviour from conventional hotels towards green hotels. Thus, an empirical investigation on hotel customers' demographic as well as eco-friendly attitudes and intentions can help hotel operators better predict green buying behaviour of their potential/current customers. In this regard, the author conducts a series of multiple regression analyses in order to find any relationships between green attitudes and the intention to pay a premium for green hotels in Malaysia. A total of usable responses were used for data analysis. In general, findings reveal that except for seriousness of environmental problems (SEP), all other green attitudes, applied in this study, have a significant impact on the intention to pay a premium for green hotels. In addition, results of ANOVA indicate a variety of differences in intention to pay a premium for green hotels across different demographic characteristics. Finally, findings of this study not only affirm the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by Ajzen (1975), but also provide managerial implications for hoteliers, marketers, and tourism ministries for better sustainability, segmentation, positioning, and resource allocation. © 2014 International University College. All rights reserved.