The Impact of UGC Perception on Tourist Travel Intentions in Yunnan: The Mediating Role of Trust and Implications for Sustainable Digital Tourism Marketing

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-825-2_50How to use a DOI?

Keywords

UGC Perception; Tourist Travel Intentions; Sustainable Digital Tourism Marketing

Abstract

The proliferation of user generated content (UGC) on social media platforms has fundamentally transformed tourist information search and destination decision making. This study investigates the impact of UGC perception on tourist travel intentions in Yunnan Province, China, with a focus on the mediating role of trust. Drawing upon the Stimulus Organism Response (S-O-R) framework and Source Credibility Theory, we propose that tourists’ perceptions of UGC, encompassing information quality, source credibility, and emotional appeal, influence travel intentions through trust. A cross sectional survey was administered to 342 tourists who used social media for travel planning. Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings reveal that UGC perception significantly influences travel intentions, and this relationship is partially mediated by trust (VAF = 47.8%). The study offers practical implications for sustainable digital tourism marketing, suggesting that destination marketers should cultivate trustworthy UGC ecosystems to promote long term sustainability of Yunnan’s tourism industry.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Shan Liu
AU  - Thillai Raja Pertheban
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/10
TI  - The Impact of UGC Perception on Tourist Travel Intentions in Yunnan: The Mediating Role of Trust and Implications for Sustainable Digital Tourism Marketing
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 5th International Conference on Public Service, Economic Management and Sustainable Development (PESD 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 509
EP  - 516
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-825-2_50
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-825-2_50
ID  - Liu2026
ER  -