Tourist Carbon Awareness Scale

What it measures

Measures tourist awareness of their travel carbon footprint, concern about climate impact, and willingness to offset emissions. Air travel is the single largest contributor to the individual carbon footprint of tourism. Carbon awareness and concern are prerequisites for sustainable travel behaviour change. Increasingly relevant given flight shame (flygskam) discourse and airline net-zero commitments.

Response format

Likert (1–5, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

Carbon Awareness — knowledge and concern about tourism's carbon footprint (Likert 1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

• I am aware that air travel contributes significantly to carbon emissions.
• I understand the environmental impact of my travel choices.
• I am concerned about the carbon footprint of my tourism activities.
• I try to minimise my carbon emissions when travelling.
• I am aware that tourism contributes to climate change.

Carbon Reduction Intention — willingness to reduce travel-related emissions

• I would consider taking fewer flights to reduce my carbon footprint.
• I am willing to offset the carbon emissions from my travel.
• I would choose lower-carbon transport options where possible.
• I would stay longer at a destination to reduce the frequency of flights.
• I would pay more for carbon-neutral travel options.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Three subscale scores. Awareness does not automatically produce concern or behaviour change — the pathway involves perceived efficacy, social norms, and convenience barriers. Flight shame is a related cultural phenomenon particularly prevalent in Scandinavia.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Higham, J., Cohen, S.A., Peeters, P., & Gossling, S. (2013). Psychological and behavioural approaches to understanding and governing sustainable mobility. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21(7), 949–967.

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