How Travel Live Streaming Affects Viewers' Travel Intentions: The Mediating Role of Sense of Presence and Perceived Usefulness

ABSTRACT The impact of travel live streaming (TLS), an emerging tourism marketing approach, on viewers' travel intentions requires further investigation. Based on the stimulus‐organism‐response theory and presence theory, this study analyzed 469 effective questionnaires using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling and bootstrapping to explore the mechanism of TLS features (i.e., visual, interpretative, and interactive effects) on viewers' travel intentions. The results indicate that visual and interactive effects, sense of presence, and perceived usefulness have significant positive impacts on viewers' travel intentions. The three TLS features significantly and positively influenced viewers' sense of presence and perceived usefulness. The sense of presence and perceived usefulness partially mediated the relationship between the effects and travel intentions. This study highlights and confirms the significance of anchor interpretation as a crucial information output stage in TLS. It contributes to literature by expanding the research perspective on TLS through a deeper understanding of its mechanisms.