How does travel pace shape pro-environmental behavior? A conservation of resources perspective
基于资源保存理论，通过情景实验和实地实验发现慢节奏旅行比快节奏更能促进游客的亲环境行为，且对低努力行为效果更显著，资源感知起中介作用。
Against the backdrop of global tourism expansion, tourists’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) is critical to alleviating destination environmental pressure, yet existing research prioritizes static factors while neglecting the dynamic variable of travel pace. Based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study explores the impact of travel pace on PEB via two scenario-based and two field experiments. Results show that slow-paced travel promotes PEB more effectively than fast-paced travel, with a more pronounced effect on low-effort PEB—verified by both self-reported intentions and objective behaviors. Resource perception serves as the mediator: slow pace boosts resource perception to facilitate PEB, while fast pace reduces it to inhibit low-effort PEB. Tourism activity type and destination context moderate this pathway by regulating resource consumption and recovery, respectively. These findings reveal the heterogeneous impact of travel pace on tourists’ PEB, fill the research gap of dynamic contexts and PEB, and provide practical insights for destinations to guide tourists’ PEB via pace optimization and resource management.