Understanding social media’s impact on tourist destination choice : An extended tam model study of uzbek travelers = 소셜 미디어가 관광지 선택에 미치는 영향 : 우즈베크 여행자를 대상으로 한 확장된 TAM 모델 연구

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 우즈베크 관광객을 대상으로 소셜 미디어의 활용이 관광지 선택 행동에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 연구는 기술수용모형(Technology Acceptance Model, TAM)을 확장하여 유용성(Perceived Usefulness), 사용 용이성(Ease of Use), 오락성(Entertainment)을 독립변수로 설정하고, 신뢰(Trust in Social Media)를 매개변수로, 여행 동기(Travel Motivation)를 조절변수로 포함하였다.

총 245부의 설문지 중 220부의 유효 표본을 사용하였으며, 수집된 자료는 Jamovi와 SmartPLS 4 프로그램을 활용하여 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 신뢰는 관광지 선택에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났으며, 오락성 또한 관광지 선택에 긍정적인 영향을 주는 것으로 확인되었다. 반면, 사용 용이성은 관광지 선택에 직접적인 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 신뢰는 유용성과 오락성 간의 관계를 부분 매개(partial mediation)하였으며, 여행 동기는 사용 용이성과 오락성 간의 관계를 조절(moderation)하는 것으로 나타났다.

이러한 결과는 관광 마케팅 실무 측면에서 소셜 미디어의 신뢰성과 즐거운 사용자 경험이 관광객의 관광지 선택에 핵심적인 요인으로 작용함을 시사한다. 단순한 정보 제공을 넘어, 홍보자와 마케터는 감성적 소통과 상호작용적 콘텐츠 제작을 통해 관광객의 참여를 강화할 필요가 있다.
이론적 측면에서 본 연구는 기존 TAM 모형에 신뢰와 여행 동기 요인을 통합하여 관광학 분야의 이론적 확장을 시도했다는 점에서 의의가 있다. 향후 연구에서는 다른 문화권 관광객의 비교 분석 및 장기적 행동 변화 연구를 통해 보다 심층적인 이해를 도모할 필요가 있다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to empirically analyze the influence of social media on destination choice behavior among Uzbek tourists. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the research model incorporates Perceived Usefulness (PU), Ease of Use (EOU), and Entertainment (ENT) as independent variables, Trust in Social Media (TR) as a mediating variable, and Travel Motivation (TM) as a moderating variable.
The primary objective of this research is to examine how Uzbek tourists perceive, trust, and utilize information obtained from social media when making destination-related decisions. A total of 245 questionnaires were distributed, and 220 valid responses were collected and analyzed using Jamovi 2.6 and SmartPLS 4. The data analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability and validity assessments, as well as mediation and moderation analyses.
The results revealed that Ease of Use and Entertainment have significant positive effects on Trust and Destination Choice, whereas Perceived Usefulness shows no statistically significant direct effect. Furthermore, Trust in Social Media partially mediates the relationships between EOU, ENT, and Destination Choice, while Travel Motivation significantly moderates the relationships between EOU, ENT, and Destination Choice.
These findings highlight that trust and engaging user experience in social media play a crucial role in influencing destination choice. Practically, this implies that tourism marketers and destination managers should go beyond providing useful information and focus on building credibility, fostering emotional engagement, and developing interactive and enjoyable social media content that enhances users’ trust and travel inspiration.
From a theoretical perspective, this study extends the TAM framework by integrating Trust and Travel Motivation into the model, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of social-media-driven tourist behavior. Future research is recommended to compare tourists from different cultural backgrounds and to explore long-term behavioral changes related to social media influence on travel decisions.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1. Introduction 1
• 1.1 Background and Rationale 1
• 1.1.1 Background 1
• 1.1.2 Rationale 2
• 1.2 Research Objectives and Questions 3
• 1.2.1 Objectives 3
• 1.2.2 Research Questions 4
• 1.3 Research Flow 6
• Chapter 2. Literature Review 10
• 2.1 Theoretical Foundations 10
• 2.1.1 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) 10
• 2.1.2 Trust and Credibility Theories 21
• 2.1.3 Travel Motivation Theory 28
• 2.2 Social Media Factors 38
• 2.2.1 Perceived Usefulness (PU) 38
• 2.2.2 Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) 41
• 2.2.3 Entertainment 43
• 2.3 Travel Motivation 47
• 2.4 Trust in Social Media 51
• 2.5 Destination Choice 56
• 2.6 Research Gap 60
• Chapter 3. Uzbek Tourists and Tourism 62
• 3.1 Tourism in Uzbekistan and Outbound Trends 62
• 3.1.1 Overview of Uzbekistan 62
• 3.1.2 Current Tourism Situation 64
• 3.1.3 Government Tourism Promotion Policies 68
• 3.1.4 Necessity of the Study 71
• 3.2 Characteristics of Uzbek Tourists and Tourism 73
• 3.2.1 Demographic Characteristics of Uzbek Tourists 73
• 3.2.2 Travel Behavior 76
• 3.2.3 Psychological and Cultural Aspects 79
• 3.3 Prior Studies on Uzbek Tourist Behavior and Social Media 83
• 3.3.1 Existing Research on Uzbek Tourist Behavior and Social Media 83
• 3.3.2 Gaps and Limitations in Social Media Tourism Research 85
• 3.3.3 Research Opportunities and Theoretical Contribution 87
• Chapter 4. Research Design 90
• 4.1. Research Framework and Hypotheses Development 90
• 4.1.1. Research Model 90
• 4.1.2. Operational Definitions of Constructs 93
• 4.1.3. Research Hypotheses 96
• 4.2. Research Context and Sampling Design 99
• 4.2.1 Research Context 99
• 4.2.2. Sampling Procedures and Sampling Characteristics 101
• 4.2.3. Data Collection Procedures 104
• 4.3. Analysis Methods 109
• 4.3.1 Descriptive Analysis of the Sample and Key Variables 109
• 4.3.2 Reliability and Validity of Measurement 110
• 4.3.3 Testing Causal Relationships 111
• 4.3.4 Testing Mediating and Moderating Effects 112
• Chapter 5. Analysis Results 115
• 5.1 Measurement Model Analysis 115
• 5.1.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents 115
• 5.1.2 Descriptive Statistics of Key Variables 118
• 5.2. Reliability and Validity Testing 122
• 5.2.1 Model Fit Evaluation 126
• 5.3 Structural Model Results 128
• 5.3.1 Mediation Analysis 132
• 5.3.2 Moderation Analysis 134
• 5.4. Summary of Hypotheses Testing 138
• Chapter 6. Discussion and Conclusion 141
• 6.1 Summary of Research Procedures 141
• 6.2. Interpretation of Direct Effects 143
• 6.2.1 Interpretation of Mediating Effects (Trust in Social Media) 146
• 6.2.2 Interpretation of Moderating Effects (Travel Motivation) 149
• 6.3 Theoretical and Practical Implications 152
• 6.3.1 Theoretical Implications 152
• 6.3.2 Practical Implications 154
• 6.4 Limitations and Future Research Directions 157
• 6.4.1 Limitations 157
• 6.4.2 Future Research Directions 159
• References 163
• ABSTRACT 176
• Appendix 1. Questionnaire 178