Reality TV, audience travel intentions, and destination image

Film/TV induced-tourism research has proliferated in recent decades. Nevertheless, there is a lack of cross-disciplinary academic investigation into audiences' psychological processing of film tourism. In this study, the relationships and intervening mechanisms between audience involvement and tourist behavioral intentions were examined. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 355 respondents, with the use of structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analysis. A popular reality show “Where are we going, Dad?” was the focus of our study. The empirical results indicate that audience involvement influences tourists' behavioral intentions through the mediating role of cognitive and affective images. The findings contribute to an improved understanding of how audience involvement affects tourist behavioral intentions, and the extent to which destination image mediates the relationship. Practical implications of using reality TV shows for marketing are drawn from the findings of our study.