Do entitled tourists misbehave? The role of emotions and familiarity with destinations

Purpose As tourist misbehavior becomes increasingly disruptive in many destinations, there is a growing need to identify the factors that influence such behavior. Recognizing that individual psychological differences affect behavior in distinct ways, this study examines the role of psychological entitlement in contributing to moral disengagement at tourist destinations. Design/methodology/approach The survey targeted individuals residing in the United States. Data were collected through an online crowdsourcing platform. A total of 565 responses were included in the analyses, which comprised confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and moderation analysis. Findings The findings of this study suggest that individual entitlement is significantly associated with a person’s moral disengagement. Entitled individuals tend to judge a destination in a more negative manner, which influences their moral disengagement. An individual’s perceived familiarity with a destination plays a moderating role in these relationships. Practical implications This study integrates psychological entitlement, destination emotions and moral disengagement, demonstrating how individual psychology drives emotional states toward a destination and influences moral disengagement in the context of international tourism. Destination managers should attempt to reduce visitors’ psychological entitlement and potential misbehavior through clear messages emphasizing the disadvantages or consequences that individuals may encounter. Originality/value This study addresses psychological entitlement as a critical yet overlooked antecedent of tourist misbehavior, moving beyond situational explanations to highlight a psychological trait that predisposes individuals to unethical behavior while traveling. It also extends moral disengagement theory into the tourism domain by demonstrating how entitled tourists rationalize their misbehavior. In addition, by identifying destination familiarity as a boundary condition, the study explores how entitlement is most likely to translate into negative affect and disengagement.