Savoring Matters: The Impact of Tourist Sharing on Well-being

Tourist sharing is a significant source of well-being, yet the mechanisms through which it influences their well-being remain unclear. In particular, material sharing, a crucial aspect of tourist sharing, has not received the attention it deserves. To address this, we conducted a comprehensive investigation involving a questionnaire survey and four experiments. Our findings reveal that the well-being effect of material sharing is relatively stronger than that of experiential sharing, with savoring mediating the relationship between tourist sharing and well-being. Sharing channels moderate this well-being effect, whereby material sharing (vs. experiential sharing) activates higher well-being when tourists use offline channels for sharing. However, when tourists use online channels for sharing, experiential sharing (vs. material sharing) activates higher well-being. This paper introduces material sharing into the tourist sharing framework, highlighting the critical role of savoring in the well-being effect of tourist sharing, with practical implications for enhancing tourist well-being during sharing activities.