Digital Influence in Tourism: An Integrated Review of Content, Platform Dynamics and Technology-Driven Consumer Behavior
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This literature review examines how digital strategies shape tourist decision-making by synthesizing insights from sixteen empirical and conceptual studies. The analysis shows that digital influence in tourism emerges from the combined effects of user-generated content, influencer communication, live-streaming formats, AI-generated material and platform-mediated interactions. These elements jointly activate cognitive, affective and social mechanisms through which tourists evaluate destinations and form behavioral intentions. Findings highlight that current research, although extensive, remains fragmented across isolated themes and lacks integrative frameworks capable of explaining how digital stimuli, technological infrastructures and psychological processes interact. By proposing a system-level perspective, the review clarifies the interdependencies between content, platforms and consumer responses, offering conceptual coherence and identifying avenues for future research. The study contributes to the advancement of digital tourism scholarship by consolidating dispersed evidence and outlining a structured foundation for empirical investigations and managerial applications.
Author: Cristiana-Alexandra Belu
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7128874503
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