In the ubiquitous debates about the global tourism industry and its environmental impact, young adults are sometimes spearheaded as part of a generation influenced by global climate movements and increasing climate conscious. We invite you to join this research seminar where we will be discussing questions such as:

• Too what extent are young consumers influenced by ‘green’ concerns in a tourism and travel context?
• What prevents us from living and consuming as we know we should?
• Are there differences in young adult's sustainable travel perspectives across culture, social conditions and, not least, across digital media?
• Can new digital platforms facilitate sustainable tourism consumption among young people in tourism and beyond?

This seminar sets out to investigate such questions (and others as we go along!) and to inspire the discussion, there will be presentations by Professor Elena Cavagnaro, Professor of Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism, NHL Stenden; Simona Staffieri, researcher, NHL Stenden; Maria Wolrath-Söderberg, associate professor, Södertörn University. To further enrich the event, we have invited two MA in Tourism graduates from Aalborg University to provide short presentations on their recent work on young consumers and sustainability.

09.00 – 09.05 Welcome by Martin Trandberg Jensen, associate professor in tourism and mobility,

09.05–09.50 Presentations by two MA in Tourism graduates

• Nanna Bruunstrøm Jensen: “I do it time after time and I still do not give a f***”: A critical exploration of whether sustainability shapes young adults’ holiday choices
• Oana Heimdal Grigoras: “In a post-pandemic tourism era, how can digital innovations in tourism facilitate sustainable behavior in young adults?”

09.50 – 10.00 Break

10.00 – 10.30 ‘Youth tourism and sustainability: looking back and looking forward’, Elena Cavagnaro and Simona Staffieri

10.30 – 11.00 Discussion

11:00 – 11:15 Break

11:15 – 11:45 “We have the knowledge and yet we live as if there were five globes. What prevents us from living as we know we should and what drives those who change over the threshold?” Maria Wolrath-Söderberg shares insights from studies of how individuals reason about climate transition.

11:45 – 12:00 Wrapping up