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.
Highlights
Tourists start searching for online information about the best tourist destination and hotels before planning their actual traveling schedule (Nunkoo and Ramkissoon, 2013; Ramkissoon, 2018a,b)
This study presents the direct relationship of the tourist destination online content (TDOC) constructs of Online information quality (OIQ) and User-friendly accessibility (UFA) with Intentions to visit tourist destination (IVTD) and Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) alongside the indirect associations under the mediating pressure of satisfaction
The findings show significant direct impacts of OIQ on IVTD and eWOM, i.e., (β = 0.264, p = 0.001) and (β = 0.293, p = 0.004), respectively, at 5% significance level
Summary
Tourists start searching for online information about the best tourist destination and hotels before planning their actual traveling schedule (Nunkoo and Ramkissoon, 2013; Ramkissoon, 2018a,b). The possession of information communication technology (ICT) devices, such as laptops, tablets, iPads, and smartphones, among tourists has fueled the use of the internet in tourism planning, promotion, and consumption across the globe (Parra-López et al, 2011). This has contributed significantly to the promotion of tourism and hospitality business worldwide. The latest ICT and the internet have enabled tourists to quickly search, interact, compare, and make decisions to purchase online tourism and hospitality deals (Mills and Law, 2004; Law et al, 2018)
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