Fifty percent of emissions must be cut by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050 to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Transport is a major component of tourism’s contribution to climate change. Therefore, encouraging tourists to use less energy intensive public transport is an important strategy in reducing tourism emissions. Despite the crucial role of public transport for sustainable tourism, the area remains substantially under researched and theoretically uninformed. To fill the research gap, an extended-value-belief-norm (EVBN) model was created and assessed, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, air quality, and climate change, and comparing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) groups of fair distribution, efficient allocation, and sustainable scale. Results revealed that an EVBN model well explains tourist behavior for public transport, showing the significant distinct effect of ESG components and SDG groups in the research model, and providing theoretical and managerial insights with respect to tourist use of public transport.