Promoting vs. protecting: where should the money from tourists visiting my city go? The effect of environmental attitude

Abstract

Overtourism is causing many problems in the world’s most popular destinations. As a result, many of these cities are opting to impose a series of taxes on tourists who visit these destinations, the so-called green taxes, in an attempt to reverse some of the problems caused by tourist activity. However, these taxes can be used both to protect the destination and to promote it, aggravating the problem they were originally intended to solve. Thus, this research aims to find out the residents’ opinions, taking into account variables related to their environmental perception, on how these taxes should be used. To this end, a sample of 120 residents was taken and, through the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) models, and the fuzzy-set (fsQCA) method, which identify the causal relationships that explain a specific reality (whether tourists have to pay fees) given a set of conditions (environmental attitude, the use of these fees for promotion or protection), different results were obtained. Specifically, environmental self-identity or activism shapes opinions about where these green taxes should go. This can help to educate society on the correct use of these taxes as well as the management of the destinations themselves.