How Does Message–Language Congruity in Tourism Carbon Emission Messages Shape Boosting Policy Behavior?

An effective tourism carbon emission message can promote the willingness to support boosting policies of tourism carbon reduction. However, the factors that contribute to an effective tourism carbon emission messages are not well understood. Through three scenario-based experiments, we reveal the congruity effect between message framing and language style in tourism carbon emission messages across different experimental conditions. Specifically, using desirable language with gain message framing and feasible language with loss message framing can lead to stronger willingness to support boosting policies of tourism carbon reduction (Study 1). The results further show that the congruity effect is mediated by hope and worry (Study 2) and is weakened for participants with a high need for cognition (Study 3). These findings also offer actionable practical implications for destination managers to design effective tourism carbon emission communication.