ESRA 2025 Preliminary Program
All time references are in CEST
Survey research on sustainability |
| Session Organiser |
Dr Daniel Seddig (KFN)
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| Time | Tuesday 15 July, 11:00 - 12:00 |
| Room |
Ruppert D - 0.22 |
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Papers
Quantifying Sustainable Tourism Attitudes: A Novel Composite Indicator for European Union Citizens
Professor Francesca Bassi (University of Padova) - Presenting Author
Professor Manuela Scioni (University of Padova)
In this study, we propose the development of a composite indicator to measure European citizens’ attitudes towards sustainable tourism. While existing literature and official statistics offer several composite indicators to measure sustainability and circular economy in the tourism sector primarily based on territorial data, our approach uses data collected at the individual level from a representative sample of European citizens.
Our research is based on data collected from the Flash Eurobarometer survey 499, which involved over 25,000 individuals living in the 27 European Union countries in October 2021. The survey examined various aspects, including: travel behaviours, booking channels and information sources, destination selection criteria, options and information on sustainable tourism, intentions to adopt eco-sustainable practices during holidays. We focus on this last aspect, specifically on the willingness to adopt sustainable practices while traveling based on which we constructed a composite indicator to measure attitudes towards sustainable tourism.
This indicator, calculated at the individual level, allows us to compare European countries, identify tourist segments within and across European countries, explain tourist behaviour through the application of appropriate models. From a methodological perspective, the work is focused on comparing the application of different weighting systems.
The idea underlying the construction of this new CI is that sustainable tourism is composed by various dimensions (eco-friendly behaviour, economically favourable behaviour, destination specific behaviour) and that different tourists may have more responsibility in one dimension and less in another one. Moreover, willingness to pay and to change might be associated with different levels of attitude towards sustainable tourism, as well as travel choice with regard, for example, to destination, accommodation, transportation or time period.
The composite indicator developed in this study aims to quantify these aspects, providing a comprehensive measure of European citizens’ attitudes towards sustainable tourism. This measurement allows for comparisons
The Sustainability Spillover: Uncovering the Link between Informal Elder Care and Eco-Conscious Behaviors across the European Union
Professor Aviad Tur-Sinai (University of Haifa) - Presenting Author
Professor Netta Bentur (Tel-Aviv University)
Dr Giovanni Lamura (Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, INRCA IRCCS—National Institute of Health & Science on Ageing)
Dr Ricardo Rodrigues (SOCIUS/CSG, ISEG (Lisbon School of Economics & Management), Universidade de Lisboa)
Dr Mirko Di Rosa (Centre for Biostatistics and Applied Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology, INRCA IRCCS - National Institute of Health & Science on Ageing)
Dr Marco Socci (Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, INRCA IRCCS—National Institute of Health & Science on Ageing)
This study explores the association between informal caregiving for older adults and environmentally sustainable behaviors across European Union countries, examining how gendered and domestic nature of environmentalism relates to elder care. Data from 41,742 respondents aged 16–74 were analyzed from "Survey of Gender Gaps in Unpaid Care, Individual and Social Activities," funded by European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in 2022. Frequency of sustainable behaviors was measured across 10 indicators. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions examined associations between caregiving and sustainable behaviors, adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, attitudinal covariates. Informal caregivers engaged in eco-friendly actions significantly more frequently than non-caregivers across 10 sustainable-behavior indicators (p<0.001). The "caregiver effect" was strongest for sustainable-consumption choices like buying eco-friendly (β=0.16), fair-trade (β=0.15), and used products (β=0.17), and weaker for household practices such as recycling (β=0.05) and mindful resource consumption (β=0.06). Caregivers attained higher composite environmental behavior scores (33.93±8.23) than non-caregivers (31.88±8.00; p<0.001). This association remained robust after adjusting for gender, age, education, employment, household size, attitudes, and other covariates. Caregiving had the strongest association with buying used items (β=0.20) and eco-friendly products (β=0.14). Country-level analyses revealed consistent differences, with largest gaps in Southern and Eastern Europe. This first large-scale cross-national study demonstrates a consistent association between older-adult caregiving and environmentally sustainable behaviors. Results suggest caring for a vulnerable family member relates to a broader sense of social and environmental responsibility. Caregivers' heightened engagement in sustainable consumption positions them as potential early adopters and change makers. Findings highlight new avenues for environmental education and caregiver support initiatives that synergistically promote interpersonal and environmental care.
