Relationship Between Social Media and Tourist Satisfaction: Destination Attributes as a Mediator

Social media plays a vital role in enhancing tourist satisfaction due to its ability to create pre- and post-travel experiences. As tourist destinations in Southeast Asia become more competitive, Thai tourism stakeholders mainly depend on various social media platforms to promote different destinations within the country. As destination attributes also play a role in tourist satisfaction, the attributes of a destination as a mediator between social media and tourism satisfaction have not been extensively studied in the Thai context; therefore, this study aims to examine the causal relationship between social media and tourist satisfaction. Through purposive sampling, a total of 418 tourists who had spent more than 3 days in Bangkok were selected for the study. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the suitability of the measurement model, and the latent variables were tested using the structural equation modelling (SEM) in order to identify the relationship. The ANOVA technique was used to compare between the genders, and the SEM technique was used to test the hypothesis. The study found that social media, destination attributes, and tourist satisfaction did not differ among different gender groups (male, female, LGBTQ+, not specific). The findings also showed that social media had an effect on tourist satisfaction (β = 0.34) and destination attributes (β = 0.31); moreover, destination attributes had an effect on tourist satisfaction (β = 0.34), and finally, social media had an effect on tourist satisfaction mediated by destination attributes (IE = 0.11). These findings underscore the importance of each dimension in capturing and representing various facets effectively.