Sharing travel stories and behavioral outcomes: A case of travel

The benefits of tourism have been drawing a great deal of attention from tourists, community, and society alike. This study investigates how tourists' story sharing activities influence their post-purchase behavioral process, depending on different communication conditions. Two 2x2 between-subject experiments were conducted with recent travelers in the U.S. Results reveal tourists' post-purchase behavioral processes depend on what, how, and with whom they engage in post-trip story sharing activity. Findings contribute to the literature on purchase-driven happiness, self-enhancement, well-being, and communications by providing evidence on how different communication conditions alter the effects of tourists' story sharing on their post-purchase behavioral outcomes. Findings also suggest that destination marketers should apply strategies to encourage tourists' story sharing activity.