Impact of tour guide humor on tourist pro-environmental behavior: Utilizing the conservation of resources theory

Extant studies have increasingly investigated the impact of tour guide humor on tourist responses but paid insufficient attention to its effect on tourist pro-environmental behavior. Following the conservation of resources theory, this research examined how tour guide humor influences tourist pro-environmental behavior by identifying tourist relational energy as the mediator and tourist self-construal as the moderator. The theoretical model was tested using data from 476 tourist-matched surveys nested in 28 tour groups. Tour guide humor can stimulate tourists’ perception of relational energy and further motivate tourists to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Tourists’ self-construal can moderate the effect of tour guide humor on relational energy and the indirect effect of tour guide humor on tourist pro-environmental behavior via relational energy. Specifically, the positive association between tour guide humor and relational energy is stronger for tourists with more interdependent self-construal than for those with more independent self-construal. This study contributes to the tourist pro-environmental behavior literature by identifying tour guide humor as a prominent determinant. Valuable recommendations are also provided for destination management organizations to promote tourist pro-environmental behavior from the perspective of tour guide humor.