Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
Residents have a profound and enduring impact on destination environmental sustainability, yet the emotional and trait-level factors of their pro-environmental behavior remain underexplored. Grounded in Broaden-and-Build theory, this study examines whether and how dispositional awe translates into Tibetan residents’ pro-environmental behavior intention. Through four complementary studies combining in-depth interviews (N = 15) and surveys (total N = 800), we demonstrate a consistently strong association between dispositional awe and pro-environmental behavior intention. Two survey-based studies incorporating both self-reported pro-environmental behavior intention and peer-reported pro-environmental behavior reveal that this relationship is partially mediated by connectedness to nature and place identity. By shifting attention from tourists’ momentary awe experiences to residents’ enduring dispositional awe, this research advances tourism scholarship on emotion and sustainability and offers novel insights for Broaden-and-Build theory.
Keywords
connectedness to nature, dispositional awe, place identity, pro-environmental behavior intention, residents, Xizang
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
ISSN
00472875
Publication Title
Journal of Travel Research
Publisher
Sage
School
School of Business and Law
Funding Information
This work was supported by The Research Project Founded by Xizang University.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Content Type
Metadata only
Recommended Citation
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript version of an article published by Sage in Journal of Travel Research. The published article is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875261459200
Liu, K., Huang, S., Yu, Z., Li, Z., & Hu, S. (2026). Dispositional awe and its effect on destination residents’ pro-environmental behavior intention. Journal of Travel Research. Advance online publication. Advance online publication. Copyright © 2026 Sage. DOI: 10.1177/00472875261459