Green intentions in a growing nation: How trust and responsibility shape eco-hotel choices

The interest in sustainable tourism within Bangladesh's hotel sector is growing; however, the green hotel movement has not advanced significantly due to trust issues, limited awareness, and financial challenges. Therefore, this research aims to identify the determinants influencing Bangladeshi tourists' motivation to visit green hotels. The theoretical model of this study is grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and incorporates two additional constructs: Perceived Environmental Responsibility (PER) and Green Trust (GTS). A structured questionnaire was distributed to 261 participants using convenience sampling, targeting university students and young professionals with knowledge of eco-travel. The collected data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0. Although the data showed normal distribution, PLS-SEM was chosen due to the moderate sample size (261) and the prediction-oriented complexity of the model. Covariance-Based SEM (CB-SEM) was rejected as less suitable for exploratory, theory-extending analysis. The results indicate that PER and GTS significantly and positively influenced attitude (ATT) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), but not subjective norms (SN). In turn, ATT and SN significantly influenced the intention to visit green hotels (IVGH), whereas PBC had no significant direct effect on IVGH. PER and GTS nonetheless exerted significant positive indirect effects on IVGH through ATT, SN, and PBC. The estimated structural model demonstrated an acceptable overall fit (SRMR = 0.093; NFI = 0.774), and no multicollinearity was detected (all VIF values <3.0). In the context of a developing country, tourism behavior can increasingly be explained through the lenses of trust and moral responsibility. This study offers practical insights for hotel managers, marketers, and policy-makers to promote green hotel adoption by leveraging trust, social influence, and environmental education.