How tourists evaluate green sustainability signals: The roles of internal awareness, external perception, and trust

This study investigates how perceived green quality signals shape tourists’ trust and intentions to choose green tourism services. Drawing on Signaling Theory, Trust Theory, and value-based perspectives, the study examines how Perceived Green Marketing Quality (PGM) influences Green Trust through multiple first-order green evaluation mechanisms, conceptually grouped into internal and external pathways. A quantitative approach was employed using SPSS 27 and SmartPLS 4. Data were collected from 388 domestic tourists in Vietnam using purposive convenience sampling, with respondents required to have prior exposure to green tourism services. The results show that PGM significantly enhances Green Trust both directly and indirectly through Environmental Values, Clarity of Green Claims, Usefulness of Green Information, Green Word-of-Mouth Credibility, Perceived Green Economic Responsibility, Positive Green Emotions, Perceived Green Transparency, and Perceived Green Ethical Responsibility. Green Trust has a strong positive effect on tourists’ intention to choose green tourism services, while Green Involvement significantly strengthens the trust-intention relationship. The findings extend green tourism research by showing that different green sustainability signals contribute unequally to trust formation and that trust serves as a central mechanism linking green evaluations to behavioral intention. The study also provides practical implications for developing credible, transparent, and verifiable green communication in sustainable tourism.