Impact of tourist-to-tourist interaction on responsible tourist behaviour: Evidence from China

This study identifies tourist-to-tourist interaction as a significant antecedent of responsible tourist behaviour. The mechanism by which two types of tourist-to-tourist interaction (tourism information sharing and self-disclosure) influence two types of responsible tourist behaviour (basic responsible behaviour and extra responsible behaviour) was proposed and empirically tested. The results indicate that tourism information sharing and self-disclosure positively impact tourists’ perceived group norms. Nevertheless, perceived group norms can only increase basic responsible tourist behaviour. While destination attachment can be improved by tourism information sharing but not self-disclosure, it positively relates to both basic and extra responsible tourist behaviour. In terms of generational differences, Chinese Generation Y tourists are engaged in a higher level of tourism information sharing than Chinese Generation X tourists. Moreover, the relationship between self-disclosure and perceived group norms is significant for Generation X tourists but not for Generation Y tourists.