The effects of temporal distance and post type on tourists' responses to destination marketing organizations’ social media marketing

With the rapid growth of social media practice in the tourism industry, destination-marketing-organization-generated content (DGC) has become an important communication tool in promoting destinations. However, little remains known about the extent to which DGC affects tourist behavior. Based on a temporal construal-level research framework, which considers how the level at which a stimulus is construed influences consumers' information processing and decision-making, this study investigates the interplay effects of temporal distance and post type on tourists' attitude strength changes (Study 1) and decision-making processes (Study 2) from a dynamic approach. The findings reveal that the effect of DGC on tourists' attitude changes is contextual, and DGC is less influential on tourists' decision-making processes when they have a near travel plan than a distant one. This study significantly changes the current understanding of the scope of DMOs’ influence through social media, concluding that DMOs should not invest in DGC except for in specific contexts.