The impact of uses and motivation gratifications on tourist behavioral intention: The mediating role of destination image and tourists' attitudes

Purpose: This study investigates the relationships between uses and gratification (U&G) theory, destination image, and tourists’ attitudes and how they influence tourist behavioral intention.

Methods: The data was collected from 590 Vietnamese tourists through social media platforms like Facebook, Zalo, and Instagram. The Smart-PLS program (version 4.0) was used for data analysis and hypothesis testing.

Results: The outcome indicates all the hypotheses were supported. The result shows that U&G motivations positively affect both destination image and tourists’ attitudes toward using technology. Destination image positively affects tourists’ attitudes toward using technology. Tourists’ behavioral intention is positively affected by destination image and tourists’ attitudes toward using technology. Moreover, the research delved into the intermediary functions of destination image and tourists' technological attitudes regarding the association between U&G motivations and tourist behavioral intention.

Implications: This study contributes significantly to literature as it is one of the pioneering works in integrating U&G theory. The correlations between variables bring new findings inside the tourism literature field. Furthermore, this study offers practical applications for managing and marketing heritage sites by exploring the crucial factors influencing tourists' intentions to visit these sites.