Communication Factors Affecting Tourist Adoption of Social Network Sites

Abstract

Smart tourism technologies (STTs) are technological media that tourists apply in various stages of the tourism decision-making process. The purpose of this study was to explore how the communication elements of social network sites (SNSs), as a part of STTs, enhance tourists' motivation and usage intention. A structural framework based on communication elements and the uses and gratification theory with regard to SNSs usage was developed and investigated. An online survey was employed for the data collection, and structural equation modeling was used in the hypotheses analysis. The findings indicated that Internet self-efficacy, information quality, and systems quality trigger the information-seeking motive while service quality and source credibility positively determine the relationship maintenance motive. The information-seeking motive, entertainment motive, relationship maintenance motive, and Internet self-efficacy positively influence the intention to use SNSs for trips. New findings were found in terms of the relationship between the motives. The information-seeking motive and relationship maintenance motive influence the entertainment motive. Moreover, the relationship maintenance motive influences the information-seeking motive.Sustainability 2019, 11, 4198 2 of 13 their travel experience. Moreover, increasing tourist satisfaction through ICT has become a tourist destination's aim [8] because tourism services in all travel stages affect tourists' evaluation [9]. Gretzel et al. [3] mentioned that ICT smart systems assist travelers in their travel decision-making processes including (1) predicting tourists' needs and providing recommendations before the trip; (2) presenting information and services for tourists' on-site experiences; and (3) allowing tourists to share their travel experiences, which also provide other tourists with information for their decision-making processes. Furthermore, smart tourists provide information that is important for businesses who search for meaningful tourism experiences [3] because businesses can adjust themselves according to customers' needs.However, few studies on STTs have focused on the motives to use the technologies and relationship between the motives. Due to the various combinations of ICT technologies, it may be complicated to study STTs as a whole. Thus, this study focused on social network sites (SNSs), which tourists could gather and provide travel information on the same platform. SNSs can help businesses achieve a sustainable relationship with their key customers, as they provide two-way communication, especially cultural products in which many tourism products are cultural-based. Hence, SNSs are suitable for generating the rapid circulation of cultural products on the Internet [10]. Since tourists may use social network platforms for their travel decision-making process, it is, therefore, necessary to gain a better understanding of the relationship between communication elements, tourists' motivation, and their intention to use the media for their trip. Thu...

Could Smart Tourists Be Sustainable and Responsible as Well? The Contribution of Social Networking Sites to Improving Their Sustainable and Responsible Behavior

“…In addition, explorative use has a strong influence on overall tourism experience satisfaction, and exploitative use mainly enhances the transaction satisfaction. A study by Ho and Gebsombut [62] aimed to explore how the communication elements of SNSs, as a part of ST technologies, enhance tourists' motivation and usage intentions. The findings indicate that the information-seeking motive, entertainment motive, relationship maintenance motive and Internet self-efficacy positively influence the intention to use SNSs for trips.…”

The Role of Travel Motivations and Social Media Use in Consumer Interactive Behaviour: A Uses and Gratifications Perspective

“…Media stickiness increases in line with the individual's perceived value of social media content [44]. Recent research has highlighted that gratifications are key drivers of social media use [33,35,37]. Reference [45] found that entertainment, expressive information sharing, and social interaction gratifications predict online travel communities' ability to retain users.…”

Efectos de los usos y gratificaciones de Facebook en la elección de destinos turísticos

“…La teoría de UyG explica por qué la audiencia utiliza un determinado medio de comunicación y qué gratificaciones reciben de este uso (McQuail, 1994;Dhir et al 2017;Parmelee y Roman, 2019). Asimismo, es una herramienta que sirve para explicar las motivaciones de consumo de medios tradicionales, pero también ha sido considerada muy adecuada en la investigación de las motivaciones para usar las redes sociales, y en concreto, Facebook (Choi et al, 2016;Hur et al 2017;Plume y Slade, 2018;Ho y Gebsombut, 2019).…”