Perceived content attractiveness and travel intention in countryside tourism short videos: comparing emotional arousal and need for escapism

Introduction Countryside-themed tourism short videos have become important sources of destination information and travel inspiration, yet the affective and motivational responses associated with attractive content may not be equally relevant to travel intention. Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response framework, this study examined the associations among perceived content attractiveness, emotional arousal, need for escapism, and travel intention and directly compared the two specific indirect associations. Methods Perceived content attractiveness was conceptualized as a higher-order appraisal comprising destination attractiveness, presenter attractiveness, and video design attractiveness. Data were collected through an online survey of a convenience sample of 434 Chinese social media users who had previously viewed short videos about countryside life or rural tourism. Structural equation modeling and bias-corrected bootstrapping were used to examine the proposed relationships. Results Perceived content attractiveness was positively associated with travel intention, emotional arousal, and need for escapism. Need for escapism was positively associated with travel intention, whereas the unique structural association between emotional arousal and travel intention was not significant. The specific indirect association through need for escapism was significant, whereas that through emotional arousal was not. A bootstrap comparison further showed that the specific indirect association through need for escapism was significantly larger than that through emotional arousal. Discussion These findings distinguish experiential activation from restoration-oriented motivational relevance and suggest that need for escapism is more closely associated with travel intention than emotional arousal in the context of countryside-themed short videos. The results highlight the value of considering not only emotional engagement but also the motivational relevance of restoration and temporary escape in countryside tourism communication.