The Celebrity Influencer: Delineating the Effect of Tourism-Oriented Short Video Marketing on International Tourist Conation

Abstract

This quantitative deductive study explores the influence of celebrity social media influencer-based short video marketing on tourist conation. The study also explores the intervening effects of trust, safety perception, and country image as underlying psychological mechanisms in tourist decision-making. Using a sample of 601 potential American tourists, the partial least squares—structural equation model results indicate that celebrity influence via short video marketing positively augments tourists’ leisure tourism-oriented conation—furthermore, trust, safety perception, and country image as internalized psychological mechanisms nuance this nexus. The findings enhance our understanding of the proliferation of celebrity-based social media influencing and short video marketing as conduits for destination marketing.