Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the applicability of technology acceptance model (TAM) to explain the widespread acceptance and usage of social media (SM) for travel purposes by Indian outbound leisure travellers during their travel cycle. Design/methodology/approach The study has adopted a qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews of 30 respondents, who had taken at least one international vacation in the last 12 months. Content analysis was used to arrive at the conclusion. Findings Findings of the study are used to develop a conceptual model which upholds the validity of the TAM with perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) as determinants of SM usage. The model has been extended to include perceived trust (PT) and social capital (SC) as important constructs to explain the travellers’ use of SM. Disposition readiness (DR) of the user towards SM was found to have an effect on all the four constructs. Originality/value Theoretically, this study suggests a modification to the existing TAM, which shows a unidirectional effect of PU and PEU on attitude. This study suggests that the effect would be bi-directional where the attitude (DR) of the traveller towards SM usage will affect PU and PEU. Furthermore, this study extends the TAM to include PT and SC as important constructs to explain SM usage by travellers. This study provides valuable insights into the hospitality and tourism sector which might help in further segmentation of travellers leading to more customised service offerings.
Highlights
The Indian outbound travel industry has seen a steady growth, showing a compounded annual growth rate of 10.17 per cent by 2016 (India Tourism Statistics, 2017)
This study upholds technology acceptance model (TAM) to conclude that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) successfully predict the acceptance and usage of social media (SM) for outbound leisure travel
In addition to PU and PEU, perceived trust is an important predictor of SM usage by outbound travellers
Summary
The Indian outbound travel industry has seen a steady growth, showing a compounded annual growth rate of 10.17 per cent by 2016 (India Tourism Statistics, 2017). A recent study suggests that the Indian outbound leisure travel segment has a promising potential as only 30 per cent of the total departures from India account for leisure travelling, as against a global average of 53 per cent (CAPA-Expedia, 2018). This upsurge in outbound leisure travel may be attributed to an increase in GDP over 7 per cent (Taborda, 2018), growing air connectivity due to low-cost carriers, rising disposable income of Indian middle class and growth of woman and senior travellers (Dasgupta, 2017). Social media (SM) tends to inspire travel more than any other form of interaction
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