Social media significantly shapes how people search, share, and ultimately choose a travel destination. Recently, there has been a thorough exploration into the factors shaping travelers’ desires and behaviors, especially within the realm of tourism, aiming to gain deeper insights into how individuals interact with specific destinations according to their preferences. Understanding the connection between travel motivations and intentions is crucial. However, this relationship can be complex due to the presence of destination-related factors. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the significant impact of social media content on shaping individuals' intentional behavior toward selecting a travel destination. Specifically, this paper aims to explore the factors that directly influence the intention to travel to Georgia. To do so, the study employs the Visual-Congruence-induced Social Influence (VCSI) theory, which examines how influencers use visual congruence to represent common interests within a specific niche. This visual congruence fosters strong connections between influencers and their followers, ultimately affecting travel intentions. The research uses the questionnaire technique as the primary data collection method, with 346 responses gathered through convenience sampling. Data were obtained via online and face-to-face interviews conducted with foreign tourists who had never visited Georgia before. To analyze the data, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was chosen due to its capability to handle complex models effectively. The findings indicate that social media content has a positive influence on travelers' behaviors and their decision-making process when choosing a destination. This paper offers valuable insights for the development of Georgia's tourism sector, showing how social media content can significantly affect travelers’ decision-making. The study makes a unique contribution by revealing the positive impact of social media on travelers' intentional behavior, which can guide tourism industry professionals and destination marketing managers in creating more effective social media strategies to attract tourists, particularly to Georgia.
Kılıç et al. (Tue,) studied this question.