Traveler's Social Media Use Continuous Intention During post Covid-19 Pandemic: The Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour

Abstract

This study provides a new perspective on the role of social media use in tourism marketing by introducing an extended model based on the theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The study provides information on the mediating role of the major contructs in the theory of Planned Behavior (i.e attitude, behavioral control, and subjective norms) on media dependence to predict traveler's social media use continuous intention in Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. The survey data were gathered using simple random sampling to select 372  respodents from leaders of travel groups and analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that the new model has a predictive power toward travelers' social media use continuous intention. Apart from the Theory of Planned Behavior constructs, media dependency significantly influences traveler's social media use continuous intention. Additionally, the mediating effect of subjective norms, attitudes, and perceived behavior control has occurred. Theoretical and practical implications and directions of future studies are provided.