Comparative Impacts of Xiaohongshu and Douyin on Domestic Travel Intentions: An Integration of AISAS and the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

This study investigates the comparative influence of Xiaohongshu and Douyin on domestic tourists’ travel intentions and explores the dual psychological mechanisms underlying rational and emotional decision-making. A total of 842 valid responses were collected from Chinese domestic tourists aged 18–54 through convenience and purposive sampling. The data collection instrument was a structured, bilingual questionnaire adapted from established measurement scales. Specifically, the questionnaire measured seven constructs—perceived usefulness, perceived credibility, perceived interactivity, perceived pleasure, behavioral attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral intention—drawing from validated sources such as Davis (1989), Ajzen (1991), Cheung et al. (2009), and Childers et al. (2001). Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SPSS and AMOS, following reliability and validity testing procedures.

Results show that Xiaohongshu has a more substantial effect on perceived credibility (β = 0.740, p < 0.001) and usefulness (β = 0.723, p < 0.001), thereby leading to rational, well-planned travel decisions. In contrast, Douyin exerts greater influence through perceived interactivity (β = 0.794, p < 0.001) and pleasure (β = 0.615, p < 0.001), thereby stimulating spontaneous, emotion-driven travel intentions. The model achieved a good fit (χ²/df = 2.13, CFI = 0.963, TLI = 0.951, RMSEA = 0.042), confirming the validity of the dual-mechanism framework.

The findings enrich the theoretical integration of AISAS and TPB, demonstrating how different platform affordances activate distinct decision-making pathways. Practically, the study offers actionable insights for tourism marketers to design platform-specific content strategies tailored to rational planning (Xiaohongshu) and emotional stimulation (Douyin).