Government Officials as Social Media Influencers: Appeal and Effects on Destination eWOM

Government officials increasingly function as social media influencers in destination promotion, yet their effectiveness remains unmeasured. Drawing on source effectiveness research, this study develops and validates a framework for assessing government officials as institutional social media influencers in digital tourism marketing. Through thematic analysis of 39,481 online comments, we identified four appeal dimensions: personal, identity, professional, and interpersonal. Scale development and validation across 722 respondents confirmed the measurement structure. Structural equation modeling with 723 responses tested how these appeal dimensions influence electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) through parasocial interaction and visualized consumption experience. Results show that each appeal dimension directly affects eWOM and operates indirectly through sequential mediation: appeal enhances parasocial interaction, which strengthens visualized consumption experience, ultimately driving eWOM. This research provides the first validated instrument for measuring institutional influencer effectiveness and distinguishes government officials from commercial influencers through their formal authority and dual competency requirements in governance and tourism promotion.