FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PURCHASE CONTINUANCE USAGE OF DIGITAL TOURISM PLATFORMS: AN INTEGRATED MODEL

Abstract

The main objective of the current study is to investigate antecedent factors influencing the continuance usage of digital tourism platforms in emerging markets (e.g., Jordan). This objective reflects the growing importance of digital platforms in shaping tourists’ travel planning and destination selection processes. An online survey was used to collect data from 519 social networking users who rely on digital tourism platforms to select their tourist destinations. These users actively depend on online platforms to obtain tourism information, explore destinations, and review travel experiences shared by others. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis. This method was selected because it is suitable for analysing complex models and examining relationships between multiple constructs. The results confirmed that all direct hypotheses were accepted except the first hypothesis (H1), and hence the related hypothesis was rejected. This indicates that most of the proposed relationships in the research model were statistically supported. Regarding the indirect hypothesis (the moderating effect of e-WOM), the results show that e-WOM has moderated the relationship between purchase usage and continuation usage. In other words, the presence of electronic word-of-mouth strengthens the relationship between users’ purchase-related activities and their intention to continue using the platforms. This study provides valuable and actionable insights to tourism marketers, digital strategists, and managers of social networking platforms about how to further engage, satisfy and retain their users in the long term. These insights may assist practitioners in improving user experience and enhancing platform engagement strategies. Knowing digital tourist behavioural patterns, especially in the Jordanian context, helps programs achieve more targeted and more effective marketing strategies. Such understanding is particularly important for developing digital marketing initiatives that better respond to the needs and expectations of tourism platform users.