Sustainable tourism has emerged as an important approach in achieving a harmonious balance between economic development and environmental protection in destinations following low carbon development approaches. This study explores the working mechanism of resilient low carbon tourism destinations through exploring failure management, infrastructure resilience, low carbon practices, and communication quality at major destinations in Thailand, such as Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. The study made use of an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach whereby quantitative data was first collected from 602 tourists and followed by an interpretative approach using semi-structured interviews conducted among 30 individuals. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis show that low carbon practices, infrastructure resilience, and communication quality positively affect tourist satisfaction, while perceived failure dimensions have an adverse impact on satisfaction and destination loyalty indirectly. In particular, the qualitative phase focused on providing explanations related to the findings of SEM analysis with special attention paid to tourist perception and experience of implemented strategies aimed at enhancing resilience and sustainability at tourist destinations. Thematic analysis of interview data allowed the emergence of several themes, including perceived failures of services and the environment, low carbon adaptation, infrastructure resilience, and open communication promoting trust and loyalty.

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