Exploring pro-sustainable tourists in nature-based destinations: a biosphere reserve case study

Nature-based destinations are increasingly regarded as appropriate contexts for advancing sustainable tourism; however, demand-side segmentation approaches that explicitly incorporate sustainability dimensions remain limited. This study examines how tourists’ knowledge, attitudes, behaviours, and willingness to pay in relation to sustainability can be combined within a multidimensional segmentation framework. Based on survey data from 1188 tourists visiting a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Southern Europe, a Two-Step Cluster Analysis identifies three distinct segments: sustainable supporter tourists, individualistic tourists, and critical tourists. The results reveal a persistent attitude – behaviour gap. Although sustainability awareness and favourable attitudes are widespread, more than 70% of tourists across all segments are unwilling to pay more for sustainable options. Socioeconomic characteristics – particularly education, income, and age – emerge as stronger predictors of willingness to pay than pro-sustainability orientations alone. Notably, the introduction of fiscal incentives significantly increases willingness to pay, especially among sustainability-oriented tourists, underscoring the importance of extrinsic mechanisms in shaping economic support for sustainability initiatives. By empirically demonstrating how sustainability-based segmentation can inform demand-driven management strategies, this study contributes to the international literature on sustainable tourism. The findings offer transferable insights for protected and nature-based destinations, highlighting the need for differentiated policy approaches that combine economic incentives with communication and behavioural strategies to engage heterogeneous tourist segments.