From the Virtual to On-site Visiting: A Phenomenological Exploration of Tourists’ Perceived Value of Tourism E-Commerce Livestreaming in Hainan, China

Abstract

Tourism e-commerce livestreaming (TEcLS) involves the real-time online broadcasting of travel products or services to engage potential customers, facilitating virtual shopping experiences and promoting tourism offerings. While previous studies have mainly examined the advantages of TEcLS over conventional marketing and its impacts on customer intentions, little attention has been paid to how tourists perceive value at different stages of the tourism e-commerce livestreaming process. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring tourists’ perceived value of tourism livestreaming, particularly among those who have actually purchased and experienced tourism products in Hainan, China, through tourism livestreaming. A phenomenological qualitative approach was adopted in this study to explore tourists’ perceived value across the pretrip, on-site, and posttrip stages. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted to understand tourists’ motivations, experiences, meanings, and desirable outcomes of this platform. Three main themes emerged: (a) key drivers for purchasing TEcLS, (b) tourist engagement with TEcLS, and (c) future trends and challenges for TEcLS. Findings suggest that price discounts, flexible returns, livestreamers’ charisma, information sharing, and impulse buying enhance consumers’ intentions to purchase travel products through tourism livestreaming. Participants also reported more enjoyable on-site travel experiences, including hassle-free redemption of travel products, deeper local immersion, and the benefit of efficient algorithmic targeting that helped them locate relevant information at their destination. However, some reported discrepancies between the livestreamed content and their actual experiences. The study highlights that the future of tourism livestreaming will be shaped by trends in personalization, streamer expertise, and visual appeal while addressing challenges related to AI and order manipulation. These findings offer valuable insights for tourism livestreaming-based marketing strategies and product development.