Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism | 2026
Authors: Dias F.; Gomes D.; Lavaredas A.; Esteves P.
DOI: 10.3389/frsut.2026.1791534
Journal: Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism
Year: 2026
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Document Type: Article
Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access
Cited by: 0
The ethics of environmental sustainability are expressed through ecological values, which are expected to be reflected in the sustainable practices adopted by tourism companies. This study aims to analyse the extent to which ecological values influence the propensity of tourism companies to adopt sustainable practices, as well as the importance that managers assign to sustainability certification and the adoption of monitoring tools. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted based on a sample of Portuguese tourism companies. The findings indicate that commitment to sustainable practices is higher among certified companies, larger organizations, and those where decision-making is more widely distributed across management levels. Positive and significant correlations were identified among most of the constructs analyzed, particularly between the importance assigned to certification, ecological worldviews, willingness to adopt digital monitoring tools, and the propensity to adopt sustainable practices. However, while ecocentrism shows only a weak relationship with the propensity to adopt sustainable practices, anthropocentrism does not significantly predict behavioral intention. This suggests the presence of an attitude-behavior gap, which may be explained by internal power dynamics and/or structural barriers within organizations, and warrants further investigation. Copyright © 2026 Dias, Gomes, Lavaredas and Esteves.
ecological values; monitoring tools; sustainability certification; sustainable practices; tourism