Unpacking the influence of group dynamics on tourism behaviour
A study of social media opinions, sentiments and destination popularity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21699829 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Li Sun (0000-0002-9084-1318, Kunming University of Science and Technology), Yitong Chen (0009-0004-0255-9462, Kunming University of Science and Technology, corresponding author), Yunhong Xu (0000-0002-8680-6042, Kunming University of Science and Technology) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-28 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Current Issues in Tourism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1368-3500 • E-ISSN: 1747-7603 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13683500.2025.2552362 |
| OpenAlex | W4413939379 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 51 |
Social media discourse increasingly influences tourism behaviour at environmentally sensitive destinations. This study examines how group-level online discourse dynamics shape visitation to these sites, focusing on two metrics: consistency of group opinions (CGO) and consistency of group sentiments (CGS). Guided by social influence theory (SIT) and group polarisation effect (GPE), this study operationalises CGO and CGS as entropy-based measures of evaluative and emotional alignment in user-generated content (UGC) and uses Dianchi Lake in China, an ecologically vulnerable destination, as the empirical context. Poisson regressions on monthly Douyin data with a one-month lag show that higher CGS is associated with reduced tourism behaviour in the subsequent month. In contrast, CGO does not directly influence tourism behaviour; its effect depends on the popularity of the destination and is weakened when destination popularity is high, suggesting information dilution and reputation buffering. Robustness checks with Today's Headlines data and across sub-periods confirm these results. This study advances digital tourism research by integrating affective and cognitive social influence mechanisms and identifying boundary conditions related to platform and popularity. It also offers practical insights for monitoring online sentiment and managing reputation at sensitive destinations
Advertising · Business · Geography · Group dynamic · Popularity · Social dynamics · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Tourism · Unpacking · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Psychology · Social Psychology · Marketing
Republic
Sustainability and marketing in tourism
Echo Chambers
Altruistic values and environmental knowledge as triggers of pro-environmental behavior among tourists
Decoding the educational travel decision
Modelling generation Z tourists' social responsibility toward environmentally responsible behaviour
Consumer behavior and environmental sustainability in tourism and hospitality
The impact of group polarization on the quality of online debate in social media
Reputation matters the most
Can Social Media Be a Tool for Increasing Tourists’ Environmentally Responsible Behavior
Intervening Role of Tourists’ Engagement in User-Generated Content on Their Pro-Environmental Behaviours
Destination Competitiveness
The impact of social media influencers on travel decisions
E-wom and territorial analyses
Group polarization
Internalizing Social Norms to Promote Pro-environmental Behavior
The spatial moderating effect of environmental pollution on the relationship between tourism and community resilience
Communicating Destination Social Responsibility Through Social Media
Social influence and unfollowing accelerate the emergence of echo chambers
Psychological ownership and knowledge sharing
Compliance, identification, and internalization three processes of attitude change
A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment
The group polarization phenomenon
| Highly cited | No |
|---|