Why unethical tourism operators persist: structural drivers and parasitic action mechanisms

Unethical tourism operators continuously disrupt the order of the tourism market. Based on the parasitic relationship within symbiosis theory, this study offers novel insights into unethical tourism practices. Qualitative analysis reveals that the emergence of unethical tourism operators is driven by the complexity of the tourism industry, structural exploitation of the tourism market, excess benefit drive, and low immunity of tourists. These operators persistently disrupt tourism market through four mechanisms: parasitism, collusion, assimilation, and evolution. This research extends prior studies by moving beyond individual morality and regulatory shortcomings, revealing structural roots and filling a gap in symbiosis theory on parasitism mechanisms. This study also provides significant implications for tourism market governance.