While modern tourists rely heavily on social media content, extant literature does not clarify what kind of travel experiences activate sharing behavior on social media. In the context of cultural heritage tourism, this study aims to examine the structural relationships among authenticity (i.e. objective, constructive, and existential), nostalgia (i.e. personal and historical), and travel experience sharing behavior on social media. For this, the data obtained based on 442 responses from domestic heritage tourists in South Korea were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicated the significant roles of existential authenticity and personal nostalgia in predicting heritage tourists’ sharing behavior.

This study aims to predict Generation Y customers’ acceptance of user-generated content (UGC) websites by integrating an extended technology acceptance model (TAM), trustworthiness of online reviews, and cultural consensus and cultural consonance theory. To collect data, a free listing method was first used to recognize our ad hoc domain, i.e., the factors that determine the trustworthiness of online hotel reviews among Generation Y in South Korea, from an emic perspective. Based on the free listing results from 39 individuals, an online survey was conducted with 273 samples using a self-administered questionnaire. Cultural consensus analysis was conducted to determine whether there is a shared cultural model in trustworthiness factors among participants, and cultural consonance values were calculated. Then, a structural equation modeling technique was used to estimate how the proposed model explains the collected data. Results indicate that an agreed-upon cultural model of trustworthiness of online hotel reviews exists among sample members. Cultural consonance of trustworthiness was found to constitute a significant antecedent of perceived ease of use and attitude towards websites in the extended TAM model. This study can contribute to predict Generation Y customers’ acceptance of UGC websites and offer meaningful implications for sustainable tourism management, particularly when cultural variables are considered.

This study explored how changes in stress, anxiety about COVID-19, and leisure participation affected individuals’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included two waves of data collection from 454 participants aged 30–49 years in South Korea; data collection occurred during the two peaks of the pandemic in 2020. A series of analyses was used to examine the associations in leisure patterns, demographic characteristics, stress, anxiety, and well-being during the pandemic. The results indicated that the participants’ leisure patterns shifted from participating in more home leisure to outdoor leisure between the two waves during the pandemic. In addition, participating in more outdoor leisure activities was found to contribute to better well-being. An improved understanding of the associations between the COVID-19 pandemic and various aspects of life is important for effective leisure development and to help people overcome life’s difficulties during and after the pandemic.

This study highlights the alternative travel behaviour called “untact” tourism during the Coronavirus disease-19 pandemic in South Korea. Based on the two-wave longitudinal data collection in March and September 2020, this study aims to (a) examine individuals’ domestic travel experiences and patterns among Korean people, (b) develop a measurement scale for untact tourism from an emic perspective, and (c) demonstrate the major antecedents of untact tourism behaviour. This study offers a timely understanding of individuals’ travel patterns in the context of untact tourism during the unprecedented pandemic and provides insightful implications for practitioners to revitalize the tourism industry.

Mothers are crucial decision-makers regarding family travel. However, the uncertain and experience-oriented nature of tourism often drives mothers to display herding behaviors, heavily relying on others’ opinions, and making decisions similar to each other due to social influence. This study offers rich and in-depth descriptions of mothers’ online herding behaviors in their family travel decision-making. The qualitative methods of netnography and in-depth individual interviews were used to observe mothers’ online herding behaviors within one of the major non-commercial online communities for mothers in South Korea. Based on the results, this study introduces a theoretical framework regarding herding behaviors that includes both antecedents and outcomes. This study also provides implications for tourism practitioners based on a comprehensive understanding of the online herding behaviors displayed by South Korean mothers regarding their family travel decision-making.

This study examined mothers’ online community (OC) use and its structural relationship with parental stress, social support, and quality of life (QoL) under the social perspective of leisure and the theory of social support as a stress buffer. The population comprised employed mothers in two countries, Korea and Taiwan, which constitute appropriate settings for cross-cultural comparisons in the context of mothers’ OC use. The online questionnaire was distributed to 12 Korean mothers’ OCs and 14 Taiwanese mothers’ OCs, targeting employed mothers who have at least one child under seven-years-old and access mothers’ OCs on a regular basis. A total of 232 Korean and 303 Taiwanese responses were analyzed to examine the structural relationships among four key variables using structural equation modelling in AMOS 20. This study confirms that more parental stress leads to worse QoL. However, more parental stress results in less frequent participation in OCs, and OC use exerts a negative influence on QoL, which contradicts the hypothesized positive correlations. In comparison among Korean and Taiwanese mothers, Korean respondents showed a stronger influence of parental stress to mobilize more social support than did Taiwanese. This multidisciplinary study contributes to expanding the literature in noncommercial OCs, employed mothers in online leisure, and online social support in cross-cultural settings to promote the sustainability of families’ wellbeing.