Research on the influence of online photograph reviews on tourists' travel intentions: rational and irrational perspectives

Purpose The study aims to explore the effects of photograph quality on visual appeal, perceived usefulness and viewers' travel intentions from rational and irrational perspectives while simultaneously providing some references for the management and marketing of tourism destinations. Design/methodology/approach The study comprises four experiments combined with structural equation modeling to explore the influence mechanism of photograph quality on travel intentions. Findings (1) Higher-quality photographs offer greater visual appeal and perceived usefulness to viewers, and these relationships are moderated by the photograph source. Specifically, high-quality photographs generated by other tourists have more visual appeal and perceived usefulness to viewers. However, there are no significant differences in the impact of low-quality photographs generated by other tourists and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) on visual appeal and perceived usefulness. (2) Visual appeal and perceived usefulness significantly affect viewers' travel intentions, and visual appeal positively affects perceived usefulness. (3) Travel experience positively moderates the effects of visual appeal and perceived usefulness on viewers' travel intentions. Originality/value The study explores the effects of the visual appeal (irrational factor) and perceived usefulness (rational factor) associated with photograph quality on viewers' travel intentions. Photograph source and travel experiences have moderating effects on this influence mechanism.