Why Post on Social Networking Sites (SNS)? : Examining Motives for Sharing Pilgrimage Experiences on SNS
Hyejin Park · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · 2014
Recently, pilgrimage tourism has experienced global resurgence because of the development of transportation.While traditional pilgrimage has been mainly driven by religious belief, today's tourists visit pilgrimage destinations to identify the meaning of life and seek individual spiritual peace in secular context.Researchers have suggested different aspect of this phenomenon, and presented their own approaches.However, only slight attention has been given to the relationship between pilgrimage and activities on the web.This study attempts to fill the research gap by considering the fact that the Internet has reshaped the way tourism information is distributed.Moreover, this study puts forward new approach of pilgrimage research against the dichotomy between pilgrim and tourists.This research investigates tourists' perception on pilgrimage tourism in the Internet age.Specifically, the objectives of this study are to identify contemporary traveler motivations to visit pilgrimage destinations and determine the antecedents that define the sharing of pilgrimage experiences on SNS.The data were derived from a sample of 304 adults in the United States.The empirical results indicate that spiritual, travel, and friendship motives are positively related to intention to visit pilgrimage destinations.Findings also indicate that positive relationships exist between selfpresentation, status, and friendship and the intention to share pilgrimage experiences on iii SNS.The results reveal that sharing pilgrimage travel experience on the web can be explained by the perceived socio-psychological benefits.By examining the moderating effect of an individual's religious belief, the difference in perceptions between highly religious group and less religious group, is revealed.Respondents perceive pilgrimage destinations as an alternative to taking a holiday or vacation.The findings of this study imply that contemporary pilgrimage travel encompasses all types of travel.Thus, understanding what motivates tourists to travel to pilgrimage destinations is imperative.Results of the study are expected to provide practical implications for the tourism industry, particularly in issues related to new pilgrimage destination marketing.