Social media frames my move and visual: The echo chamber effects on on-site tourism behaviors and destination marketing

While social media has the potential to disseminate extensive travel-related information, it may also inadvertently restrict exposure to diverse perspectives, leading to the prevalence of homogenized information among tourists. Prior research has not comprehensively explored the role of social media in shaping and constraining tourism behaviors, which can result in negative experiences at destinations. Consequently, this study represents the initial empirical endeavor to elucidate the adverse implications of echo chambers on tourism behaviors. A mixed methods approach of explanatory sequential design was employed to investigate how and why social media narrows tourism behaviors. This study collected behavioral data and conducted interviews with two groups of tourists: those who rely on social media and those who use official destination maps. It synthesized the distinctive characteristics of tourist behavioral patterns, encompassing trajectory, duration of stay, and visual content, under the influence of social media. Furthermore, this paper examined the detrimental tourism experiences stemming from these constrained behavioral patterns and probed the underlying mechanisms of echo chambers. The findings offer concrete behavioral evidence to comprehend the darker facets of social media in the context of tourism and enhance the understanding of echo chambers within a tourism context. This study also furnishes crucial insights for managing and marketing destinations via social media platforms.