Destination information search in social media and travel intention of Generation Z university students

Abstract

In an age of ubiquitous internet, social media has become a key source of travel information searches and channels of digital marketing. People everywhere are continually exposed to travel information content through social media, whether intended or not. By employing the concept of accidental discovery of information, this study identified the ability of accidental discovery versus purposeful search to affect tourists’ intentions to travel and recommend. Since the younger generations both in China and globally play the role of creating and interpreting trends, this study aimed to investigate the impact of social media usage behaviors in Chinese university students on domestic travel intention. The impact of information structure in social media, including content types and content creators, was further investigated. We found that accidental discovery had a greater impact on behavioral intention than purposeful search, and photo and video content provided a greater impact than text content. Significant influences from DMOs and user comments were also identified. The findings contribute to the knowledge on information searching behavior and digital marketing strategies in destination information dissemination. 在互联网时代下, 社交媒体已成为搜索旅游信息的主要来源以及数字营销的渠道。无论是否刻意搜索, 人们也能不断地透过社交媒体接触到旅游相关的信息。本研究以‘信息的意外发现’(accidental discovery of information)的概念为基础, 分析意外性发现和有目的性搜索对游客旅游和推荐意向的影响。中国和全球的年轻一代都在创造并演绎着趋势, 本研究针对中国大学生的社交媒体使用行为及其对国内旅游意向的影响进行调查。本文进一步探讨了社交媒体中不同信息结构的影响, 包括信息内容类型和内容创作者。研究结果显示, 与有目的性搜索相比, 意外性发现的信息对行为意向的影响更大, 而在内容类型来看, 照片和视频内容比文字内容更有影响力。此外, 本研究还发现了目的地管理组织和用户评论的显著影响。该研究结果丰富了信息搜索有关的知识, 还为目的地信息传播等数字营销策略提供启示。