Utilizing social media to promote responsible tourism: Applying technology acceptance model and source credibility theory

Puengjandum, R.; Lewis, N.; Leelasantitham, A.

doi:10.22034/IJHCUM.2026.01.01

Utilizing social media to promote responsible tourism: Applying technology acceptance model and source credibility theory

https://doi.org/10.22034/IJHCUM.2026.01.01

Volume 11, Issue 1 - Serial Number 41
Winter 2026

Pages 1-14

International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management

Document Type : ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Authors

R. Puengjandum ¹

N. Lewis ²

A. Leelasantitham ¹

¹ Technology of Information System Management Division, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

² Faculty of Business and Law, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, United Kingdom

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The rapid growth of social media has significantly influenced tourist behavior, presenting an opportunity to promote responsible tourism. However, limited studies have explored the factors influencing tourists’ intention to use social media for responsible tourism. This study integrates the Technology Acceptance Model and Source Credibility Theory to examine key determinants affecting tourists' behavioral intentions.
METHODS: A quantitative research approach was adopted, utilizing an online survey to collect data from 400 Thai tourists using social media. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was employed to analyze the relationships between Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Expertise, and Trustworthiness on the intention to use social media for responsible tourism.
FINDINGS: The results indicate that Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Expertise, and Trustworthiness all have a significant and positive influence on tourists’ intention to utilize social media for responsible tourism. The structural model demonstrated strong explanatory power with a coefficient of determination value of 0.701, supporting the relevance of the proposed framework. These findings highlight the crucial role of social media in promoting responsible tourism and provide valuable insights for developing targeted interventions and awareness campaigns to foster sustainable tourism practices.
CONCLUSION: This study provides empirical evidence supporting the integration of the Technology Acceptance Model and Source Credibility Theory in explaining social media adoption for responsible tourism. This study serves as a foundation for advancing conceptual models and frameworks to support responsible tourism.

Keywords

Social media

Responsible tourism

Technology acceptance model

Source credibility

Subjects

Information and communications technology in Urban Management

OPEN ACCESS

©2024 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

PUBLISHER NOTE
Tehran Urban Research & Planning Centre (TURPC) takes a neutral position about claims on disputed territories, place names, international boundaries, jurisdiction in published maps, and institutional affiliations. TURPC is committed to retracting a paper after its publication if it becomes apparent that there are serious problems in its content, in terms of research and publication ethics (https://www.ijhcum.net/journal/process?ethics).

CITATION METRICS & CAPTURES