How values are co-created by tourists and TikTok that are conducive to destination promotion: Evidence from Chongqing

The active involvement of a massive number of tourists on social media such as TikTok may facilitate the popularity of the destination. However, there is an insufficient theoretical discussion on how tourists interact with TikTok, and further affects destination promotion. Based on the perspective of value co-creation theory, this study took Chongqing, China, as a case study location, exploring the phenomenon of value co-creation between tourists and TikTok. The findings reveal that the interaction between tourists and TikTok is a process of ritualized experience in three stages where tourists wander between real and imaginary, online and offline. It specifically includes “online faith formation,” “offline pilgrimage,” and “online preaching.” The interaction also results in a platform ecosystem composed of tourists, online users, TikTok, and the destination, enabling the generation of a tourist-centered and multi-dimensional value co-creation network, consisting of “attraction value co-creation,” “experience value co-creation,” and “flow value co-creation.” The co-created values jointly promote tourist experience, TikTok vitality, and destination image popularity. The proposed framework of value co-creation in destination promotion provides both theoretical and managerial implications.