Connecting green dots: the role of social media in sustainable tourism decision-making

Purpose This study aims to investigate how hotels’ sustainability communication on social media influences Chinese tourists’ booking intentions (the primary dependent variable), by examining the mediating roles of perceived accommodation integrity and tourist attention, and the moderating role of tourists’ environmental tolerance. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in social influence theory, the authors surveyed 432 domestic tourists across four major Chinese cities and applied structural equation modeling to assess direct, mediating and moderated mediation effects. Findings Eco-focused social media posts significantly boost booking intentions both directly and indirectly: by strengthening perceived hotel integrity and by capturing tourist attention − each fully mediating the communication–booking link. Environmental tolerance amplifies the integrity-mediated pathway (stronger effects among high-tolerance tourists) but does not moderate the attention-mediated route. Practical implications Hoteliers should post authentic, vivid sustainability content − highlighting concrete eco-initiatives and using engaging visuals or narratives − to secure attention and trust. Segmenting audiences by environmental tolerance enables tailored appeals: emphasize environmental credentials for eco-minded guests, and frame green efforts in terms of quality and experience benefits for less driven segments. Originality/value By integrating perceived integrity, attention and environmental tolerance into a unified framework and applying it within China’s high-growth hospitality market, this research extends social influence theory to digital sustainability contexts and delivers novel empirical insights for sustainable tourism marketing in non-Western settings.