Predicting disrespectful tourist behavior: the role of stereotypes about residents, social contagion, and psychological entitlement

Abstract

Disrespectful tourist behavior has affected the wellness of the tourist industry, the residents and communities of destinations, and other tourists. Despite its negative impact, existing knowledge on such behavior is rudimentary. Acknowledging this, the current research examined the contextual, intrapersonal, and interpersonal factors that influence disrespectful tourist behavior. Using a quantitative survey research method, data were collected from a crowdsourced online sample. The contextual influence model assessed the impact of stereotypes about residents on disrespectful tourist behavior, contingent on the stereotype content model. The intrapersonal influence model examined the impact of psychological entitlement on tourist behavior. The interpersonal influence model investigated the impact of an affective appraisal of others' inappropriate behavior on the observers' moral disengagement. The findings of the study indicated that positive stereotypes about residents predicted destination affinity. In addition, destination animosity increased tourist moral disengagement, and individual psychological entitlement had a significant influence on tourist moral disengagement. The results of the study also show that disrespectful tourist behavior was socially contagious when an individual had feelings of envy toward the observed behavior. The results of the study are interpreted, and the theoretical and practical implications are discussed accordingly.