Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

  1. Arifur Rahman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing,Dhaka University and Sessional Academic at the La Trobe University, Australia. Arifur's commitment to research is predominantly in areas of Tourists’ Temporal Booking Decisions, Destination Management, Data analytics, and Social Business .He has his PhD from La Trobe University, Australia.

  2. Naila Sharmin is a graduate business student at the University of Dhaka. She received a bachelor’s degree majoring in Marketing. She is currently working as a Postgraduate Research Fellow under the supervision of Dr. Arifur Rahman. Her research interest involves Social Media Analytics, Browsing and buying behavior, Destination Marketing.

  3. Mily Akhter is a graduate business student at the University of Dhaka. She received a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree majoring in Marketing. She is currently working as a Postgraduate Research Fellow under the supervision of Dr. Arifur Rahman. Her research interest involves online Platform Analytics, Destination Management, Data analytics.

Abstract (150 Words)

Social media platforms are now prevalent in tourism literature and have the potential to influence tourists’ decision-making by impacting the process of their destination image (DI) formation. The study aims to investigate the online DI formation process by simultaneously incorporating three pivotal constructs—involvement, source credibility, and authenticity—in the context of social media platforms. The study employed a mixed-method design. Results indicate that: (1) authenticity and source credibility both have positive influence on the formation of DI, demonstrating it as an antecedent of the tourists’ intention to visit; (2) tourists’ perceived authenticity has a direct positive impact on the intention to visit; (3) tourists’ involvement might not be a significant factor in the formation of online DI. This study highlights the factors affecting tourists’ perception of and intention towards selecting a tourism destination in the context of social media platforms.

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The Role of Authenticity, Source Credibility, and Involvement in the formation of Destination Image on Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms are now prevalent in tourism literature and have the potential to influence tourists’ decision-making by impacting the process of their destination image (DI) formation. The study aims to investigate the online DI formation process by simultaneously incorporating three pivotal constructs—involvement, source credibility, and authenticity—in the context of social media platforms. The study employed a mixed-method design. Results indicate that: (1) authenticity and source credibility both have positive influence on the formation of DI, demonstrating it as an antecedent of the tourists’ intention to visit; (2) tourists’ perceived authenticity has a direct positive impact on the intention to visit; (3) tourists’ involvement might not be a significant factor in the formation of online DI. This study highlights the factors affecting tourists’ perception of and intention towards selecting a tourism destination in the context of social media platforms.