Online Tourism Information and Tourist Behavior: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis Based on a Self-Administered Survey

Salman Majeed; Zhimin Zhou; Changbao Lu; Haywantee Ramkissoon

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00599

Online Tourism Information and Tourist Behavior: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis Based on a Self-Administered Survey

Front Psychol. 2020 Apr 21:11:599. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00599. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Salman Majeed¹, Zhimin Zhou¹, Changbao Lu², Haywantee Ramkissoon^{3

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Marketing, College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
² School of Economics and Management, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China.
³ Derby Business School, College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, Derby, United Kingdom.
⁴ Monash Business School, Department of Marketing, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁵ School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
⁶ College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Abstract

This study presents the interacting phenomena of perceptions of tourist destination online content (TDOC) and tourists' behavioral intentions with a mediating role of tourists' satisfaction, which is as yet under-explored in hospitality and tourism research. A model based on three main constructs, namely TDOC (with sub-constructs of online information quality and user-friendly accessibility), satisfaction, and tourists' behavioral intentions [with sub-constructs of intentions to visit a tourist destination and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)], is presented to determine the growth of tourism business with the internet. Data were collected via a questionnaire-based survey from 413 tourists staying at hotels in Lahore city in Pakistan. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to statistically analyze the gathered data. The findings indicate that tourists' perceptions of TDOC directly influence their behavioral intentions, while tourists' satisfaction exerts a mediating influence between tourists' perceptions of TDOC and their behavioral intentions. Taking advantage of an economical and widespread online environment, destination marketing organizations could attract more tourists by fostering confidence in TDOC and positive eWOM to remain competitive in the long run. Important theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: destination marketing; electronic word-of-mouth; online tourism information; satisfaction; tourist behavior; tourist perceptions.