From Clicks to Trips: Exploring Gen Z’s Motivations behind Travel Video Sharing on Douyin

Abstract

The Douyin platform has rapidly popularized the sharing of travel experiences through short videos. This trend has especially emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly restricted opportunities for in-person travel. Generation Z, as the platform’s primary users, increasingly share travel content for attention and engagement. This study examines the psychological and social factors influencing Gen Z’s video-sharing behavior on Douyin. Integrating the theory of planned behavior and social presence theory, the research explores the roles of attitude, subjective norms, social presence, interactivity, and social interaction, with trust as a mediator. Using purposive sampling, 403 valid responses were collected and analyzed via PLS-SEM. Research findings indicate that all five factors positively influence video-sharing behavior, with trust mediating the effects of attitude, subjective norms, interactivity, and social interaction, but not social presence. This study contributes to the understanding of user motivations in tourism-related short video sharing and offers practical insights for digital tourism marketing.