International Journal of Emerging Trends in Management

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2026): International Journal of Emerging Trends in Management
Original reseach article

Personality matters: How Generation Z residents engage with their local tourism environment

FULL ARTICLE TEXT (PDF)
  • Ivana Šagovnović,
  • Leona Matotek,
  • Ivana Medojević
Ivana Šagovnović
Department of geography, tourism and hotel management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Leona Matotek
Institute for Tourism, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Medojević
Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Kotor, Montenegro

Published 31.05.2026

Keywords

  • Generation Z residents,
  • personality traits,
  • emotional solidarity,
  • place attachment,
  • destination management,
  • destination brand ambassadorship
    • ...More
    Less

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How to Cite

Personality matters: How Generation Z residents engage with their local tourism environment. (2026). International Journal of Emerging Trends in Management, 2(2), 44-57. https://doi.org/10.65984/ETM2.2.1

Abstract

Research on Generation Z in their role as residents remains relatively scarce compared to the growing body of literature examining them as tourists. Given their strong collective consciousness and pronounced concern for sustainability and local communities, even in travel contexts, it is important to investigate the factors shaping their engagement with the local tourism environment. Thus, the present study aims to examine the influence of Generation Z residents’ personality traits on their perception of tourism development’s sustainability, place attachment, emotional solidarity towards tourists, and destination brand ambassadorship behavior. The study sample comprised 215 Generation Z residents from Novi Sad, Serbia. Data were collected between December 2022 and November 2023 and analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. The findings indicate that Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and Honesty/Humility shape the economic dimension of residents’ perception of tourism development’s sustainability, whereas Agreeableness and Honesty/Humility influence Welcoming nature, a dimension of emotional solidarity. Also, Neuroticism and Openness to experience were found to affect place dependence, while Agreeableness influenced destination brand ambassadorship behavior. The practical implications of these results are discussed in the paper.

 

Article history: Received (March 15, 2026); Revised (April 19, 2026); Accepted (May 31, 2026); Published online (May 31, 2026)

FULL ARTICLE TEXT (PDF)

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