The role of social media engagement in the purchase intention of South Korea's popular media (Hallyu) tourism package: based on uses and gratifications theory

Despite the growing investment in Hallyu tourism and the rising importance of cultural tourism, a theoretically integrated model of consumer engagement has not been developed. Thus, this study established a framework based on the uses and gratifications theory to understand social media engagement's effect on the purchase intention of the Hallyu tourism package. The uses and gratifications of this study included entertainment and information seeking of Hallyu content on YouTube. An online survey was conducted to collect quantitative data to test the research hypotheses. Additionally, the cultural background of Asian and Western respondents was adopted as a moderator on all the paths. The results did not support the direct and indirect effect of passive engagement on purchase intention. The moderator effect showed the difference between the uses and gratifications and passive engagement. Consequently, theoretical implications and practical recommendations related to policy reform were suggested to promote Hallyu tourism.