The funding of recreational trails in publicly accessible nature areas is a prevailing challenge for the development of tourism destinations. In some cases, mandatory fees are neither ideologically nor legally supported, meaning that local stakeholders are reliant on the voluntary contributions of trail users. In light of the motivational barriers and uncertainties that hinder recreationists from donating, we tested behaviourally informed interventions to enhance cooperation in such settings. Specifically, we examined the effect of normative social cues on the share and amount of donations for mountain biking trails by conducting a field experiment in a rural destination in Sweden. Consistent with our predictions and previous studies, we found an increase in both the donation amount and share of donators after the intervention. Additionally, our research shows that the change in behaviour seems to be related to the belief about the donation behaviour of others, which can easily be targeted in policies. These findings imply that voluntary contribution schemes enhanced with normative messages can provide effective funding strategies for recreational nature-based trails. The importance of developing these strategies with regard to the local context is highlighted. Management implications: • Mountain bikers are, to a large extent, willing to contribute financially to the upkeep of trails through donations. Proving information about previous contributions and framing techniques to highlight this norm can further increase the share of contributions. • Contributions of approximately SEK100–120 (€9–11) per visit seem to be the norm for mountain bikers in Rörbäcksnäs. • Stakeholders involved in the management of recreational trails might benefit from making more effort to raise awareness about the possibilities to donate, for example through more channels and displays, and by testing different placements and designs. 

Norm-nudges are effective in encouraging sustainable consumer behaviour in various settings, by raising the salience of the target behaviour via social norms. Tourism presents a highly hedonic context, in which behaviour is primarily framed by self-oriented goals as opposed to normative ones related to the good of the environment and society. While the existing literature provides insights on the appropriate content of norm-nudges to raise the salience of normative goals, less is known about an appropriate frequency of nudges. It is important to address this gap in tourism because tourists need to be aware of desired sustainable behaviours, while overly obtrusive nudges may backfire. A field experiment was conducted to test the extent to which an increased frequency of norm-nudges has a backfiring effect on sustainable tourist behaviour, using donations for mountain-biking trails as the target behaviour. Results show that increasing the frequency of norm-nudges does not diminish their positive uptake, which suggests that they can be used more to encourage sustainable behaviour and enhance tourists’ experiences. Using actual and self-reported behavioural data, this study provides new empirical evidence on the effectiveness of increased frequency of norm-nudges in a real tourism setting, contributing to knowledge on norm-nudges and backfiring effects. 

Food consumption accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, with the hospitality industry, including restaurants, playing a significant role. While behavioural interventions show promise in promoting climate-friendly food choices, their implementation in hospitality operations poses significant challenges. This study integrates the operational perspectives of managers and staff with consumer behaviour insights to provide a more holistic understanding of intervention design in real-world hospitality settings. Through workshops with staff at an à la carte restaurant in a Swedish tourist destination, we co-designed a carbon label intervention and tested it in a field experiment. While the overall effect on consumer choice was limited, a substitution from high – to medium-emission dishes was observed. Moreover, our research offers a framework and practical insights for collaboratively designing behavioural interventions in hospitality. The study underscores the importance of staff engagement, guest satisfaction, and the need for ongoing adaptation in intervention design.