The Halo Effect in Destination Marketing: A Case of Travel Influencers in China
Abstract
Influencers are important for social media marketing, impacting the behavioral intention of followers. Such impact is often augmented by the halo effect. With the growing popularity of travel influencers in China, whether the halo effect can be observed in destination marketing is not well understood. To better understand the halo effect in the context of travel influencers, this study proposes a model to investigate how different characteristics of influencers affect the perceived uniqueness of the featured destination and the perceived influencer-destination congruence, which further affects the destination visit intention. The findings contributed to the literature on the mechanism driving followers’ behavioral intention as a response to influencer marketing and provided insights to both influencers and marketers.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research
Digital Marketing and Social Media
Customer Service Quality and Loyalty
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Internet Commerce
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 392–420
- Publication date
- 2 February 2026
- Language
- EN