Linking Self-media to Tourism: Investigating Factors Behind

Tourist Intention to Follow Posts in Trip Planning

Group Name: Original Aspiration
Team Member: Chang Liu, Han Li, Yang Zhou, Zhongyuan Zhou
Supervisor: Dr. Ting (Tina) Li
ABSTRACT
With the rise of self-media platforms, self-media bloggers have become an important source of information for users when making decisions. However, bloggers’ tourism promotion and its impact on users’ trip plans remain to
be studied. Therefore, this study integrates users’ attitudes and intentions to refer to Xiaohongshu notes for trip planning and its subsequent impact from five perspectives: congruity, involvement, source credibility, content
quality, and advertising recognition. This study collected data from Xiaohongshu users through a questionnaire survey. The following conclusions were drawn from the analysis of the survey results: (1) involvement is positively
related to users’ attitude; (2) source credibility is positively related to users’ attitude; (3) content quality is positively related to users’ attitude; (4) accurate advertisement recognition is positively related to users’ attitude; (5)
users’ attitude is positive related to intention.

INTRODUCTION TABLES OR FIGURES DISCUSSION

Overview Demographic information of respondents. (N=305) Theoretical Implications
The development of today's information The results of this study indicate that involvement (internal factor),
technology and the popularization of the source credibility, and content quality (external factors) are influencing
internet have increased the frequency of Male factors in Xiaohongshu users’ attitude towards the Xiaohongshu posts
people's use of network client products. and their intention to follow the posts to make trip plans, which
People no longer only rely on traditional generally confirmed the S-O-R model. This paper provides insights for
media such as TV and newspapers, but studying the users’ intention to follow the bloggers’ posts to make trip
prefer to use social media. The constant plan in a tourism context.
maturity of social media has catalyzed
the emergence and development of self-
media.

Self-media in tourism
Self-media has the following positive
effects on tourism development: First, Age
the information from self-media
influences the user’s impression of the
tourist destination. Second, self-media Male
can broaden the time and space in
which tourist destinations’ images are
disseminated. Furthermore, travelers
may use self-media to exchange both
public and private individual trip
information. 

Significance of the study

Few articles studied users’ intention to
Female
follow bloggers’ posts on social media
to make their trip plans. Once a
Gender
month
Once every
half month
Purpose of the study
To bridge these research gaps, the At least
objective of this study is to examine the Once a once
factors exerting influence on the week everyday
travelers’ intention to refer to the notes
generated by bloggers on self-media
platforms for their trip plans.

Less than Practical Implications

once a Recommendation for bloggers: (1) Ensuring high quality, accurate
month advertising positioning and paying attention to users’ intentions and
psychology. (2) Posts should be based on what a leisure traveler might
feel, rather than convey the impression that "traveling" is their job.
LITERATURE REVIEW Frequency of Once
Recommendation for self-media platforms: (1) Improve information
using Xiaohongshu every 3 to
Several concepts and variables are reviewed in this part, which supervision and reduce false information. (2) Check the content and
5 days
includes: filter out outdated information prior to showing it to users.
Recommendation for the tourism industry: (1) Media data can
The S-O-R model provide first-hand, real-time data and feedback for the strict market
According to Mehrabian and Russell (1974), the S-O-R model is
RESULTS surveillance system. (2) Collaborate with self-media platforms to
composed of three parts: stimulation, impact, and response. It is support tourism projects when necessary.
claimed that stimulus (S) is present in the external environment and
induces changes in people’s internal organisms (O), influencing their
behavioral reactions (R).
Internal factors
Congruity REFERENCE
Involvement
External factors Mehrabian, A., & Russell, J. A. (1974). An approach to environmental
Source credibility psychology. M.I.T. Press.
Content quality Litvin, S. W., & Goh, H. K. (2002). Self-image congruity: a valid
Advertisement recognition tourism theory?. Tourism Management, 23(1), 81-83.
Hoch, S., & Deighton, J. (1989). Managing What Consumers Learn
from Experience. Journal of Marketing, 53(2), 1.
Fig.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1251410
2.
Figure 1 Fisher, C. D., Ilgen, D. R., & Hoyer, W. D. (1979). Source credibility,
information favorability, and job offer acceptance. Academy of
Management Journal, 22(1), 94-103.
Wang, C. L., Zhang, Y., Ye, L. R., & Nguyen, D. D. (2005).
Subscription to fee-based online services: What makes consumer
pay for online content?. Journal of electronic commerce research,
6(4), 304.
Wojdynski, B. W., & Evans, N. J. (2020). The covert advertising
The WarpPLS 8.0 program was used to ensure that the constructs were reliable and recognition and effects (CARE) model: Processes of persuasion in
had convergent and discriminant validity. As a result, all constructs have good native advertising and other masked formats. International Journal
reliability and validity and can be employed confidently in the following analyses. of Advertising, 39(1), 4-31.
METHODOLOGY The WarpPLS approach was also utilized to analyze the structural model by
checking the R2 coefficients to determine the significance of the path coefficients.
The study setting Figure 1 displays the strong R2 coefficients for attitude (0.80) and intention (0.70).
Since there are abundant trip planning posts on Xiaohongshu, which H2, H3, H4, and H6 were supported, but H1 and H5 were not supported. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
meet the needs of the study purpose, it was chosen to be the object of
the research. The research study about Xiaohongshu users’ behavior The successful completion of this paper should be sincerely attributed
patterns on trip planning with reference to Xiaohongshu posts. to our supervisor, Dr. Ting (Tina) Li, who is an erudite and genial
teacher. We would also like to express gratitude to each of our team
Sampling members for the efforts we have made. We would also like to thank all
An online questionnaire was distributed. The study focused on those who contributed to our paper, including the respondents who
individuals over 18-year-old and who are Xiaohongshu users within answered the questionnaire accurately, the families and friends who
China. A total of 415 respondents were invited to complete the survey, encouraged us in tough time, the classmates who shared experience and
of which 305 were valid questionnaires. inspiration with us, and the former researchers who grounded basis for
Data analysis this study. Eventually, we frankly thank all HAITC professors for their
cultivation on us. And thanks to both Hainan University and Arizona
Excel, SPSS, and WarpPLS 8.0 programs were used to conduct the
States University, of which all the courses imparted us with shrewd and
data analysis.
rational vision.