Investigating the Impact of Social Marketing on Tourists’ Behavior for Attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Social marketing modifies individual behavior to achieve specific outcomes, mitigating environmental pressures. While proven effective in influencing consumer behavior, empirical studies on its impact on the tourism sector remain limited. This study examines how various social marketing channels influence tourists’ consumption decisions and contributes to achieving SDGs 11 and 12 by reviewing the existing methods of disseminating social marketing content. A conceptual model grounded in theory was developed and empirically tested. In particular, it focuses on the establishment of direct and indirect multi-route effects between social marketing and consumer behavior and introduces different influencing factors. Given the scarcity of research on collective culture, quantitative methods were employed, with data collected through questionnaires in mainland China. Results indicate that social marketing media significantly influence tourist behavior, with three mediators—subjective norms, personal values, and communication channels—playing varying roles across media types (events, public relations, and traditional media). Subjective norms, values, and communication channels act as mediators. This study bridges social marketing, tourist behavior, and SDG attainment, offering novel insights and practical implications for tourism practitioners.