ABSTRACT

The negative impacts of tourism are well documented, calling increasingly for action which encourages a more sustainable, more responsible tourism. Communication, in one form or another, has consistently been cited as an important visitor management tool capable of influencing appropriate tourist behaviour (Broadhurst 2001; Eber 1992; Forsyth 1996; France 1997; Gunn 1988; Krippendorf 1984; Prosser 1992; Reisinger 1997) yet, in practice, attempts to develop persuasive messages are often made with little theoretical basis. This research uses a theoretical framework to explore tourists’ reactions to different informative messages in three comparative scenarios, each with a different context: economic, environmental and cultural.