ASEF Podcast (SLO): Sara Dolničar [Episode #59]

In this episode of the ASEF Podcast, host Polona Zabret speaks with Prof. Sara Dolničar, Professor of Tourism at the University of Queensland, Australia. Her research combines business and psychology, focusing on consumer behaviour, sustainable tourism, and evidence-based approaches to encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour.

The episode concludes the short series Sustainability – A Harmonized Trio by exploring the economic dimension of sustainability. The conversation begins with a discussion of why surveys often fail to capture people’s actual behaviour. Prof. Dolničar explains how she relies on real-world experiments and behavioural measurements instead of self-reported questionnaires to better understand how people make decisions.

The discussion continues with several research projects from the tourism sector. Prof. Dolničar presents experiments aimed at reducing food waste at hotel breakfast buffets, including a simple stamp game that reduced food waste among families by roughly one-third in a hotel in Portorož, Slovenia. She also explains why the familiar hotel signs encouraging guests to reuse towels rarely change behaviour in practice.

A central part of the episode focuses on behavioural economics and the challenge of encouraging sustainable choices. Prof. Dolničar discusses the differences between financial incentives, behavioural nudges, and changes to default options, while reflecting on the fine line between encouraging positive behaviour and manipulating people’s decisions.

In the final part of the episode, the conversation turns to systemic approaches to sustainability. The speakers discuss regulations, reducing single-use plastics, the responsibilities of the tourism industry, and the greatest sustainability challenge facing tourism today: air travel. Prof. Dolničar argues that meaningful reductions in tourism-related emissions will require fewer flights and shorter travel distances, not technological innovation alone.