How Travel Vlogs on YouTube Influence Consumer Behavior: A Use and Gratification Perspective and Customer Engagement

Abstract

YouTube is one of the emerging technologies that impact consumer behavior. In the tourism sector, travel video blogs (travel vlogs) have become increasingly popular since they are highly influential in influencing travel behavior. Similarly, YouTube travel vlogs are highly engaging and provide consumers with destination experiences. This study determines how consumer behavior expressed through emerging technologies, such as travel vlogs on YouTube, can influence travel intention and electronic-Word of Mouth (e-WOM) behavior. By incorporating the use and gratification (U&G) perspective, this study examines the role of information seeking and entertainment as motivational factors for watching travel vlogs as a source of satisfaction. It will, in turn, lead to a greater degree of engagement. The current study investigated the emotional and presence aspects of travel videos to determine engagement. To evaluate the research hypothesis, we collected data from 300 respondents who had traveled to a destination after watching a travel vlog. We tested the hypothesis by utilizing structural equation modeling, a feature of the Smart-PLS 3.0 software. The results indicate that consumer motivations for watching travel vlogs, including the desire for information and entertainment, significantly impact customer engagement, both emotion and presence. Customers who are emotionally engaged and perceive travel vlogs as having a high presence will significantly affect their travel intention behavior and influence them to share e-WOM. In addition, the current study provides insight into tourism managers and academics on how travel vlogs as emerging technologies influence consumer behavior.

The effects of perception of video image and online word of mouth on tourists’ travel intentions: Based on the behaviors of short video platform users

“…This may indicate that the higher the quality of online word of mouth reviews, the stronger the consumers' sense of product quality, accelerating consumers' decision-making behaviors. This is consistent with the findings of Nieto-García et al ( 2017), Pourfakhimi et al (2020), and Silaban et al (2022), and also verifies that the quantity of online word of mouth evaluations can positively and directly affect tourists' travel intentions, which is consistent with the conclusion of Wei (2020) and Xu and Yao (2020). Hypotheses H4a and H4b on whether there is a mediating effect for online word of mouth on a destination's cognitive image and tourists' travel intentions have been verified.…”

“…For example, Adeloye et al (2021) found that vlogs can significantly impact tourist travel intentions. Silaban et al (2022) argued that watching travel vlogs on YouTube can significantly affect consumers’ travel intentions. In terms of the ways in which the image of a tourist destination generated by videos can significantly and positively motivate tourists to visit ( Fu et al, 2016 ; Li et al, 2021 ).…”

Do Social Media, Good Governance, and Public Trust Increase Citizens’ e-Government Participation? Dual Approach of PLS-SEM and fsQCA

“…This study collected respondent data using a Google Forms questionnaire distributed randomly through social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook). Previous studies also used the same data collection procedure [64,65].…”

Staycation: A Domestic Wellness Tourism among Malaysian and Singaporean

“…The Uses and Gratification (U&GT) Theory is used to explain the individual's motivation and satisfaction towards social and psychological needs (Dolan et al, 2019;Silaban et al, 2022). U&GT allows the present study to investigate why tourists are satisfied with their staycation in a tourist destination.…”