Echoes of tragedy: How negative social media shapes tourist emotions and avoidance intensions? A multi-methods approach

Abstract

Research on tragic events in tourist destinations and their impacts on tourists' decisions is insufficient, particularly regarding the emotions underlying tourists' behavioural intentions. Drawing on affective event theory, this research employs a multi-methods approach, including FaceReader AI software, in-depth interviews and a quantitative study, to understand how negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) triggers tourists' negative emotions and influenced their avoidance intentions following the Itaewon crowd crush in South Korea. Preliminary findings confirm the existence of negative emotions and identify their types (i.e. agonistic emotions and retreat emotions). Empirical evidence shows that negative eWOM significantly affects tourists' negative emotions, thus eliciting avoidance intentions towards Itaewon and crowded destinations. Furthermore, cross-country analysis indicates that tourists from China and Vietnam differ in the degree of negative emotions elicited by eWOM and the emotional strategies they employ. This research provides deep insights into the psychological mechanism underlying tourists’ negative emotions and avoidance intentions following a tragic event in a tourist destination.