Nudging: A Possible Solution for a More Successful Destination Management

Abstract

When tourists visit new destinations, they often bring their own values and cultural system, their behaviours, and ways of relaxing, which sometimes do not coincide with the host’s expectations. Holidays are usually associated with relaxation and fun, so tourists are not inclined to think about the norms of behaviour or environmental issues or any other concerns that worry the society today. Tourist destinations face numerous problems related to their sustainability and try to achieve a balance between economic development, environmental protection, and satisfaction of residents’ guests. Sometimes even small changes in behaviour could contribute to sustainability. In this chapter, an attempt will be made to identify the problems related to the behaviour of tourists in destinations, the reasons for such behaviour, and the potential for using the nudging approach to elicit different behaviour. Qualitative research methodology was used to gather the opinion of destination managers about the use of a nudge. For research purposes, a workshop was held with stakeholders in the destination on the possibilities of using nudging to solve problems in the destination concerning tourist behaviour. The results have shown that destination managers were not familiar with nudging. Therefore, the theoretical framework with examples of Croatian destination managers and their views on the possibilities of using nudging will be presented. The managers were positive about the use of nudging as a tool in destination management. With regards to the specificities of their destinations and bad tourist behaviour with which they are faced, they mentioned different possibilities for applying nudging.

Citation

Živoder, S.B. (2024), "Nudging: A Possible Solution for a More Successful Destination Management", Islam, N.U., Chaudhary, M. and Vukadin, I.M. (Ed.) Tourism in a VUCA World: Managing the Future of Tourism, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 79-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-674-020241006