Electronic word-of-mouth intentions in personal and public networks: a domestic tourist perspective

The study addresses the underexplored area of domestic tourism despite its large economic share and role in recovery post-pandemic. Tourism decisions are increasingly influenced by online information and eWOM. The research focuses on how destination attributes and tourists' personal involvement shape eWOM intentions in India, with a crucial distinction between personal (friends and family) and public (strangers) online networks. Research questions: (1) How do natural beauty of the destination (NBD), cultural and historical aspects (CHA), and destination inhabitants' friendliness and safety (DIS) impact overall destination experience (ODE) and, subsequently, eWOM sharing intent in public and private networks? (2) What is the role of personal pleasure from vacations (PPV) in stimulating eWOM in personal and public networks? The purpose is to elucidate psychological processes that trigger eWOM among domestic tourists and to inform destination marketing strategies.

Two streams guide the work: (1) environmental stimuli (destination attributes) leading to WOM/eWOM in tourism and hospitality, and (2) destination image (cognitive and affective components) leading to WOM/eWOM. Prior studies show attribute evaluations and consumption emotions trigger eWOM. The cognitive-affective-conative sequence is well established in destination image literature. The study adopts the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, mapping destination attributes (stimuli), affective overall destination experience (organism), and eWOM intent (response). The Tri-component attitude model (cognition, affect, conation) further underpins the hypothesized paths from cognitive image (NBD, CHA, DIS) to affect (ODE) and conation (eWOM intentions OSF and OSS). Research gaps identified include limited focus on eWOM intentions at the destination level (vs. hotels), lack of differentiation between personal and public eWOM, and paucity of evidence on domestic tourists. Objectives and hypotheses propose positive effects of NBD, DIS, and CHA on ODE (H1–H3), ODE on OSF and OSS (H4–H5), PPV on OSF and OSS (H6–H7), and ODE’s mediating role between antecedents and eWOM outcomes (H8–H9).

Design: Descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional, in-situ intercept survey of domestic tourists at five popular Indian destinations (Munnar, Ooty, Goa, Mahabaleshwar, Shimla). Population: Indian domestic tourists with internet access; English-speaking; aged 18+; overnight leisure travelers. Sampling: Purposive sampling at high-footfall sites (e.g., beaches, parks, viewpoints). Period: November 2021 to February 2022. Sample: 630 valid responses (adequate per SEM guidelines). Measures: Seven constructs with multi-item scales adapted from prior studies: NBD (natural attractions), CHA (culture, history, art), DIS (residents’ friendliness/safety), PPV (tourism involvement—pleasure/importance), ODE (affective experience), OSF (eWOM intent with friends/family), OSS (eWOM intent with strangers). Items measured on established Likert-type scales (see Table 3 in paper for item wording and sources). Analysis: SPSS 29 and AMOS 28. PCA (Promax rotation) verified factor structure; KMO=0.860; Bartlett’s test significant; seven factors explained ~73.01% variance. CFA assessed reliability and validity: Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability above thresholds; AVE>0.50; loadings >0.6; good model fit (CMIN/df=2.917; CFI=0.956; TLI=0.935; IFI=0.946; NFI=0.920; SRMR=0.055; RMSEA=0.055). Discriminant validity via Fornell-Larcker and HTMT (<0.85) supported. SEM tested structural paths and mediation. Common method bias checked via Harman’s single-factor and latent method factor; negligible impact (chi-square difference 3.903). Descriptive insights: data collected across five locations (roughly even distribution); varied demographics; high pre-trip online research (84.4%), with Google Reviews most used.

• PCA and measurement model: Seven-factor solution explaining ~73.01% variance; KMO=0.860; reliability and convergent/discriminant validity established (e.g., AVE>0.5; CR>0.60). Model fit excellent (CMIN/df 2.917; CFI 0.956; TLI 0.935; IFI 0.946; NFI 0.920; SRMR 0.055; RMSEA 0.055). - Structural paths (Table 15): • NBD → ODE: β=0.393, t=8.355, p<0.001 (supported H1). • DIS → ODE: β=0.133, t=4.680, p<0.001 (supported H2). • CHA → ODE: β=0.004, t=0.188, p=0.851 (not supported H3). • ODE → OSF: β=0.261, t=2.870, p=0.004 (supported H4). • ODE → OSS: β=0.625, t=6.057, p<0.001 (supported H5). • PPV → OSF: β=0.664, t=4.780, p<0.001 (supported H6). • PPV → OSS: β=0.526, t=4.293, p<0.001 (supported H7). - Variance explained (SMC): ODE R²=0.50; OSF R²=0.13; OSS R²=0.06. - Mediation (Table 16): • DIS → ODE → OSS: partial mediation (B=0.087, t=3.022, p=0.033). • NBD → ODE → OSF: full mediation (B=0.092, t=2.876, p=0.035). • DIS → ODE → OSF: partial mediation (B=0.062, t=2.897, p=0.002). • PPV → ODE → OSF: partial mediation (B=0.121, t=4.875, p<0.001). • No mediation for NBD/CHA/PPV via ODE to OSS, and CHA paths to OSF/OSS. - Descriptive eWOM behavior: 84.4% researched online prior to trip; 59.4% had posted travel content (social media and/or review sites). - Core insight: Natural beauty and residents’ friendliness shape ODE, which in turn drives eWOM in both personal and public networks; PPV directly fuels eWOM intentions; cultural-historical aspects did not significantly influence ODE in this nature-dominant destination set.

The findings support the S-O-R and Tri-component frameworks by demonstrating that cognitive destination attributes (especially natural beauty and residents’ friendliness/safety) influence affect (overall destination experience), which in turn stimulates conative behaviors (eWOM intentions). This addresses RQ1 by confirming that NBD and DIS elevate ODE, subsequently increasing intentions to share online with both friends/family and strangers; CHA did not significantly affect ODE in the sampled nature-oriented contexts. Regarding RQ2, PPV (tourism involvement/pleasure) significantly increases eWOM intentions in both personal and public networks, with ODE partially transmitting PPV’s effect to OSF. Differentiating personal vs public eWOM reveals ODE’s stronger path to OSS than OSF, highlighting context sensitivity in eWOM channels. These results underscore the importance of environmental and social stimuli at destinations and tourists’ intrinsic involvement in shaping digital advocacy behaviors among domestic travelers.

The study advances eWOM research in tourism by empirically integrating S-O-R and the Tri-component attitude model to explain domestic tourists’ eWOM intentions across personal and public networks. It shows that natural beauty and host friendliness enhance overall destination experience, which propels eWOM, while personal pleasure from vacations directly drives sharing in both network types. Managerially, the results suggest prioritizing conservation and presentation of natural assets, nurturing positive tourist–resident interactions, and designing authentic, involvement-enhancing experiences to seed organic eWOM. The work also emphasizes monitoring and engaging with user-generated content on key platforms (e.g., Google Reviews) to shape destination image. Future research should expand to different cultural contexts, use longitudinal and mixed-method approaches (including behavioral data), and examine negative eWOM and sustainability-related outcomes.

• Geographical scope: Findings are limited to Indian domestic tourists; generalizability to other cultures/regions may be constrained. - Cross-sectional design: Captures intentions at one point in time; cannot infer temporal changes or causality dynamics. - Self-reported measures: Potential for social desirability and recall bias; objective behavioral data were not incorporated. - Limited focus on negative eWOM: Antecedents of negative eWOM were not deeply examined.