Decoding the viewer experience shaped by tourism live streaming: the pathway to commercial success

Tourism live streaming has emerged as a promising business model for showcasing tourism products to a broad audience. However, streamers must retain viewers before effectively promoting commercial products. More research is needed to understand how the viewer base grows. This study used a social-technical perspective to decode the viewer experience and its potential for commercial success. Through a mixed-methods approach, we found that viewer experiences in tourism live streaming are immersive, multi-purpose, dynamic, and self-rewarding. This study introduced a new lens to understand how technology shapes social practices and provided practical suggestions to grow the audience for business goals.