The aims of this research are to find out how global warming influences travel-related decisions and destination choice of seven individuals in a collective case study, and how this can help to reduce tourism’s impact on global warming. Furthermore, the research explores the relationship between tourism and motivational factors, which influence the decision making of travelers. Travel-related decision making incorporates several factors that can be considered when choosing a destination to visit, which can be related to intrinsic or extrinsic motives.

Research shows that climate is widely recognized as an important factor for destination choice. However, this case discusses how humans through tourism affect global warming and how this and the knowledge of this influences their behavior. Being that global warming is largely induced by human activity, understanding the relationship humans have to global warming can be beneficial in creating more sustainable solutions.

The present paper first presents the methodological considerations which have influenced the research process. These include using a mixed methods approach to explore the topic through an online survey and seven in-depth interviews. The data was analysed based on five themes: the connection between tourism and global warming, environmental considerations and other influential factors for travel-related decisions, including transportation, and finally, responsibility for reducing global warming.

The analysis showed that respondents were more influenced by factors related to their finances and destination attributes. Tourism’s negative impact on global warming and verse versa were not seen as an important factor to consider when traveling, especially regarding travel frequency and transportation type. However, on an individual level, the analysis also showed that global warming did motivate some of the respondents to consider the future impacts of global warming when choosing destinations.

Finally, managerial implications are presented, showing that there need to be a shift from using adaptive concepts as a mitigation form to more sustainable approaches. In this case, the researcher encourages future research to examine cultural implications towards mitigating the impacts of global warming, especially in a value-laden and community-based strategy.