SOCIAL MEDIA’S OFFICIAL DESTINATION PROMO VIDEOS AND COUNTRY IMAGE INFLUENCING VISITING INTENTION TO RISKY DESTINATIONS

Abstract

Social media destination promo videos (DPVs), are among the most important information sources of travel decision-making for their interactive and sharing features, and outstanding destination promotion strategy. Country image is also another important factor for travel decision-making. This study’s purpose is to assess whether the social media DPVs like DMOs’ promo videos and country image have any impact on visiting intentions towards risky destinations. A quantitative method was used for this study. Data was collected by online questionnaires, and 609 valid responses were considered for the analysis of the study. The results showed that the country's image positively influences the attitude of young tourists towards the country and that attention towards the promo videos positively influences young tourists’ overall emotions, attitudes, social norms, interests, desires and behaviours toward visiting a risky destination. This study results would be beneficial for those who are interested in using social media DPVs as part of their destination-promotion strategy, and also can guide destination-marketers to monitor and create better destination promotional contents in social media platforms, to encourage tourism to the destinations, especially risky ones.