Impact of Emotional Contagion through Social Network Sites on Travel Willingness in the Pandemic

ABSTRACT

In previous research on consumer network usage behavior, the focus was mainly on how to collect information. Few studies have delved into consumers' psychological responses to information and whether they are also affected by emotional contagion. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainties and risks for travel have increased. Both the positive and negative emotional performance of travel information sharers often affect receivers' feelings. This study explores whether the sharing of travel information on social network sites will have an emotional impact. It also explores how that might influence site members' attitudes and behavioral intentions related to travel. According to the study, people have recently been infected with negative emotions. They hope those emotions will be transformed into positive ones by sharing travel information during the pandemic. This study shows that emotional contagion can occur in both physical and virtual spaces, and it will further affect the recipient's attitudes toward certain tourist destinations and travel willingness.