Information search behavior and travel intention of Chinese outbound tourists: mediating role of attitude

Purpose Through the lens of tourists’ information search behavior framework, this study aims to investigate Chinese outbound tourists’ information search strategies and behavioral outcomes. The relationships among sources of information search (SISs); attitudes and temporal visit intention across short-, medium-, and long-term periods; and the mediating role of attitudes on the relationship were investigated. Design/methodology/approach A list of 11 SISs often used by Chinese travelers including tourism product booking platforms (e.g. Ctrip and Tongcheng) and travel forums (e.g. Mafengwo and Qyer.com) was covered. The self-administered questionnaire was created and distributed to Chinese travelers from October to December 2023. In total, 966 usable samples were collected. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple regressions were used to assess the relationships. Findings EFA results classified the 11 SISs into 3 factors, namely, traditional official sources, social media (TikTok, Red and WeChat moments) and online travel platforms (tourism product booking platforms and travel forums). Choosing Hong Kong as the destination, the findings showed significant impacts of traditional official sources and online travel platforms on attitudes. Social media affected short- and medium-term intentions. For long-term intentions, travelers relied on other sources. As a mediator, attitudes stimulated travelers’ visit intentions across all time frames. Originality/value Existing research scarcely focuses on the temporal dimension of information search. This study enriches research on tourists’ information search strategies by considering the impacts of different SISs on tourists’ temporal travel intentions across different time frames. It also adds to the existing tourists’ travel behavior research by explaining the influence of SISs on attitudes, attitudes’ direct and mediating effect in the relationship.