The effects of temporal distance and post type on tourists¡¯ responses to destination marketing organizations¡¯ social media marketing

A research article co-authored by CTR researchers, Dr. Kaede Sano, Dr. Hiroki Sano (CTR Visiting Fellow; Ritsumeikan University, Japan), Prof. Yuji Yashima, and Prof. Hajime Takebayashi has been published in Tourism Management.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title

The effects of temporal distance and post type on tourists’ responses to destination marketing organizations’ social media marketing

 

Authors

Kaede Sano, Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University; Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University

Hiroki Sano, Faculty of Business Administration, Ritsumeikan University; Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University

Yuji Yashima, Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University; Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University

Hajime Takebayashi, Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University; Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University

 

Source

Tourism Management

Volume 101, April 2024 (Online first)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104844

*Indexed in Scopus

Journal details: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/16547

 

Abstract

With the rapid growth of social media practice in the tourism industry, destination-marketing-organization-generated content (DGC) has become an important communication tool in promoting destinations. However, little remains known about the extent to which DGC affects tourist behavior. Based on a temporal construal-level research framework, which considers how the level at which a stimulus is construed influences consumers' information processing and decision-making, this study investigates the interplay effects of temporal distance and post type on tourists' attitude strength changes (Study 1) and decision-making processes (Study 2) from a dynamic approach. The findings reveal that the effect of DGC on tourists' attitude changes is contextual, and DGC is less influential on tourists' decision-making processes when they have a near travel plan than a distant one. This study significantly changes the current understanding of the scope of DMOs’ influence through social media, concluding that DMOs should not invest in DGC except for in specific contexts.

 

Keywords

Destination marketing organization(DMO), DMO-Generated content(DGC), Temporal construal theory, Destination influence boundaries, Destination-marketing process