Rational or Emotional? The Effectiveness of Tourist-Generated Content on Travel Intention: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Abstract

Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior and Dual-Process Theory, this study examines how tourists respond to different types of tourist-generated content (TGC)—rational versus emotional—and how these responses influence travel intention through attitude toward TGC. An experiment was conducted, and data were analyzed using t-tests and mediation-based models. Results show that emotional TGC elicits more positive attitudes and stronger travel intentions than rational TGC. Attitude mediates the relationship between TGC type and travel intention, and this effect varies by destination familiarity. This study contributes to the literature by validating a dichotomous TGC framework and demonstrating the effectiveness of emotional content in hedonic tourism contexts. Theoretical and managerial implications underscore the value of strategic message design in digital tourism marketing.

Keywords

tourist-generated content rational emotional attitude toward TGC travel intention destination familiarity moderated mediation model

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