Humorous Signs That Nudge Tourists

Can you have fun with your sustainability messages and still make an impact? New research says – Absolutely!

Humor can move visitors from “good intentions” to real action.

Many sustainability messages fail in tourism settings because they fail to recognize that travel has a “hedonic” context: people want ease, comfort, and fun. 

A new study tested whether humorous signs can nudge tourists toward more sustainable behavior. Across five studies using field observation, experiments, and eye-tracking, Lei et al. (2025) found that humorous signs do more than entertain: they capture attention, reduce “inertia” (the feeling that sustainable actions are inconvenient or not worth the effort), and increase sustainable behaviors like recycling, water conservation, and energy saving. 

The study suggests humor is effective because it fits that mindset while still making the desired behavior feel doable. Eye-tracking results also showed visitors looked longer and more often at humorous signs than neutral ones. This means humor can help your message actually get seen. 

Humor worked when it was embedded in the sign itself (a clear prompt with a playful twist), not when people were simply put in a humorous mood. In the field study, visitors exposed to a humorous recycling message were more likely to recycle than those who saw a neutral sign. 

DMOs can use light-touch humor to encourage responsible travel without shaming visitors by pairing playful messaging with a clear, simple action, such as where to recycle, when to reuse towels, or how to save water and energy. Humor is especially useful at high-friction moments when sustainable choices feel like a “bother,” because it can reduce that inertia and make the behavior feel easier. 

To increase follow-through, place these messages right at the point of action (near bins, taps, switches, trailheads, transit stops, and pickup areas) and support them with convenient infrastructure like well-placed bins and easy sorting. 

Below are some example sign angles:

• Recycling: “Give your bottle a second life – bin it here.” 
• Water: “Shorter showers = stronger singing career.” 
• Energy: “Lights out – let the stars do their job.”

When sustainability feels like part of the experience (not a lecture), visitors are more likely to follow through. And humor can be a low-cost way to make that shift happen.

The study can be found here.

Lei, M., Li, Y., & Mody, M. (2025). From inertia to action: how humorous signs nudge tourists toward sustainability. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2025.2591833