Group counterattack to destination infringement events: media empowerment and emotional conduction regarding interactive ritual theory

To explore the fomentation and diffusion process of tourism infringement incidents on social media, this study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed-method approach. Findings from in-depth interview and web text analysis indicated that destination crisis event on social media is fermented in three stages: emotional arousal, emotional interaction and emotional resonance. Further, quantitative research (PLS-SEM) yielded the impact of social norms, emotional motivation, ritual admission and emotional polarization on information empowerment, psychological empowerment and social empowerment, as well as the further reaction of tourist complaint and word-of-mouth (WOM). The current research contributes to the application and development of interaction ritual theory and empowerment theory in tourism field, and social media empowerment mechanism also provides inspiration for marketing and public opinion crisis management for tourism destinations.