The awe-habitual model: exploring tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors in religious settings

This study proposes a novel comprehensive model integrating contextual, habitual, and psychological processes to address the multi-determination feature of tourists’ pro-environmental behavior (TPEB) intention. The model includes religious ambience as a contextual process, domestic pro-environmental behavior (DPEB) as a habitual process, and awe, along with Norm Activation Theory, as a psychological process. A questionnaire survey was administered at Guandi Temple, a popular religious site in Haizhou, China, collecting 363 valid datasets to test the model using the Structured Equation Modelling method. The results indicate that TPEB intention is directly associated with DPEB and religious ambience. This connection also reveals that when visitors immerse themselves in a strong religious ambience, the stimulated awe will induce a higher level of TPEB intention, with the Norm Activation Theory mediating this relationship. Furthermore, this theory also explains the indirect spillover effect from DPEB to TPEB intention. Conclusively, this study proposes the validated comprehensive Awe-Habitual Model for TPEB intention, particularly applicable in religious destinations, integrating psychological, contextual, and habitual processes. It also verifies the self-transcendence of awe and extends the application of Norm Activation Theory to measure pro-environmental behavior spillovers. Practical suggestions on encouraging TPEB and promoting sustainable tourism are offered.