A Study on the Impact of Immersion and Empathy in Tourism Short Videos on University Students' Travel Intentions: A Case Study of the “Harbin Phenomenon”

Short videos have become a vital channel for college students to access information and entertainment, profoundly influencing their lifestyle, including travel behavior. Grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory, this study takes the “Harbin Phenomenon” as a case study to investigate the impact of empathy and immersion in tourism short videos on college students' travel intentions. The frequency of short video viewing was set as a moderating variable, and data were collected and analyzed through a questionnaire survey. The findings reveal that empathy and immersion in short videos significantly and positively influence college students' travel intentions. However, the viewing frequency of short videos does not moderate the relationship between immersion, empathy, and travel intentions. This indicates that while the impact of immersion and empathy in tourism short videos is extensive, their influence on travel intentions is significantly positive. Based on these findings, the author recommends that tourism destination cultural and creative content producers prioritize the production of short videos, enhance the levels of empathy and immersion, and better stimulate the travel intentions of college students.