Volume VI Special Issue IV April 2026

Name of Author : Keerthi H, Safna Noufal, Mithun John

Title of the paper : Responsible Tourism as a Behavioral Nudge for Inclusive and Sustainable Rural Development: A Conceptual Framework toward Viksit Bharat

Abstract: Tourism has increasingly been recognised as an important driver of rural socio economic development. But conventional tourism models often prioritise economic growth at the expense of environmental sustainability and community well being. Responsible tourism has emerged as an alternative paradigm that emphasises ethical governance, stakeholder accountability, and sustainable resource management. This study examines how responsible tourism can function as a behavioural nudge mechanism that subtly influences stakeholder behaviour toward inclusive and sustainable rural development. Adopting a qualitative conceptual research design, the study synthesises literature from responsible tourism, behavioural economics, sustainable development, and rural development studies to develop an integrated conceptual framework. The framework proposes that responsible tourism governance, supported by behavioural interventions such as informational prompts, social norm messaging, eco labelling, default sustainable options, and experiential tourism practices, can guide tourists, tourism enterprises, and local communities toward pro environmental and pro social behaviours. These behavioural transformations contribute to inclusive rural development through community participation, equitable distribution of tourism benefits, environmental conservation, and cultural preservation. The study further argues that integrating behavioural insights into tourism governance can strengthen tourisms role as a catalyst for sustainable development and rural transformation. In the Indian context, the proposed framework aligns with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, which emphasises sustainability, innovation, and inclusive growth. The study contributes to tourism research by conceptualising responsible tourism as a behavioural governance mechanism by highlighting the role of behavioural nudges in advancing sustainable tourism outcomes, and paves the way for policy pathways and future research directions to empirically test the proposed framework across different tourism contexts.

Keywords : Responsible Tourism, Behavioural Nudges, Sustainable Rural Development, Pro Environmental Behaviour, Tourism Governance, Inclusive Development, Viksit Bharat 2047.

DOI :

Page Number : 197-211