Effects of tourism information quality in social media on destination image formation: The case of Sina Weibo

• DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2017.02.009
• Publication Date: 2017-02-22T02:01:33Z
• Authors: Sung-Eun Kim; Kyung Young Lee; Soo Il Shin; Sung-Byung Yang
• Keywords: 11. Sustainability; 0502 economics and business; 05 social sciences; 6. Clean water

Abstract This study investigates the role of content and noncontent cues of tourism information quality in forming users’ destination image in social media. Empirical analysis based on data collected from Sina Weibo users suggests that several content cues and web page design as a noncontent cue are positively related with cognitive and affective images, which lead to a conative image. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the role of tourism information quality in social media by providing empirical evidence on destination image formation. It also helps tourism managers build their marketing strategies to attract more tourists through social media.