How Social Media Influencers Drive Young Adults’ Vacation Decisions?

This research examines the impact of social media influencers on Millennial and Gen Z consumers’ vacation decisions. It reveals why and under what conditions influencers’ posts may trigger young adult consumers’ desire to vacation in the same destination. In a pre-test and one experiment, I demonstrate that seeing a post that is perceived by followers as credible increases influencers’ likeability and therefore leads to higher likelihood to vacation in the same place. However, seeing a post about a similar influencer, such as a student who is an influencer from the same university, decrease influencers’ likeability and leads to a decrease in young adults’ likelihood to vacation in the same place. Moreover, similarity and credibility do not have an interaction effect, which is that when seeing a post by a similar influencer, credibility will not have a stronger effect on young adults’ likelihood to vacation in the same destination.