The Impact of Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Intention to Choose Sa Pa as a Tourist Destination in Lao Cai, Vietnam

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on the intention to choose Sa Pa as a tourist destination in Vietnam. Drawing upon the persuasive communication theory, social judgment theory, planned behavior theory, and information acceptance theory, this study identified the influence of eWOM on the intention to choose a tourist destination through six factors: Understanding of the receiver, Receiver’s Involvement, Relationship between the receiver and the sender, Credibility of the eWOM information, The quality of eWOM information, The quantity of eWOM. A survey was conducted with a sample of 238 local and international tourists who sought information about tourist destinations through online channels and intended to choose and use services in Sa Pa as their tourist destination. The collected data were cleaned and subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and a structural equation model (SEM) was employed to evaluate the relationships in the research model. The results of the study revealed that all six factors significantly influenced eWOM acceptance and the intention to choose Sa Pa as a tourist destination. Among these factors, “Understanding of the receiver” had the strongest impact with the highest path coefficient (-0.338), while the “The quantity of eWOM information” had the lowest influence (0.106).

Keywords: WOM, eWOM, Tourist Destination, Intention, Behavior

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