| Title: |
Traveling as a conspicuous experience: the role of self-presentation on social media |
| Authors: |
Sorour, Yomna; Hammad, Hadeer |
| Source: |
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights ; page 1-21 ; ISSN 2514-9792 2514-9806 |
| Publisher Information: |
Emerald |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Description: |
Purpose Conspicuous consumption serves as a key means of identity construction in modern society. As experiential purchases increasingly signal status, this study aims to examine conspicuous traveling and its influence on self-presentation on social media. Integrating the value-attitude-behavior and functional attitude theories, it explores how values shape conspicuous travel and tests posting frequency as a moderator between attitude functions and self-presentation behaviors. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive design was employed using an online survey of 606 young-adult respondents. Findings Materialism and conformity directly and indirectly influence online self-presentation of travel experiences, whereas hedonism and snobbism affect it only indirectly through value-expressive attitudes. Practical implications The findings offer actionable insights for destination marketers by clarifying how travelers' personal values and attitudes shape their online self-presentation and can be strategically leveraged to enhance destination branding. Originality/value This study enhances understanding of online conspicuous consumption through travel as self-expression. It offers a novel quantitative integration of the value-attitude-behavior and functional attitude theories in the context of experiential purchases. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1108/jhti-05-2025-0563 |
| DOI: |
10.1108/JHTI-05-2025-0563/11162978/jhti-05-2025-0563en.pdf |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1108/jhti-05-2025-0563; https://www.emerald.com/jhti/article-pdf/doi/10.1108/JHTI-05-2025-0563/11162978/jhti-05-2025-0563en.pdf |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.DBD3069D |
| Database: |
BASE |