Demystifying the nexus between social media usage and overtourism: evidence from Hangzhou, China

Abstract

ABSTRACT Several destinations across the globe experience the challenge of overtourism. Literature identifies social media as one of the driving factors of overtourism. Although some prior studies have explored the relationship between social media and overtourism, the connection between the two still lacks a strong empirical validation. In light of this, we empirically established the relationship between social media usage (SMU) and overtourism, drawing upon Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT). Quantitative data were collected from 209 tourists who had visited Hangzhou and analysed using PLS-SEM. Research findings reveal that social media usage contributes to overtourism through the mediating effect of tourist flow concentration, even though the influence is weak. Consequently, only 10.2% of the variance in overtourism is explained by the model, suggesting a weak effect of social media usage on overtourism. Implications and limitations are discussed, and avenues for further research are suggested.