The Effects of LAN tour Contents Characteristics on Destination Image, Willingness to Pay in Tourism, and Long-term Stay Intention

Purpose This study empirically analyzed how the LAN tour content characteristics influence the formation of cognitive and emotional destination images, and how these images affect consumers' willingness to pay in tourism and long-term stay intention. With the recent spread of virtual travel content that allows indirect experiences of destinations through platforms such as YouTube and TV programs, academic interest in utilizing this content as a marketing tool for regional tourism activation has increased. This study focused on whether the content characteristics of LAN tours can contribute to local economic revitalization. Methods A survey was conducted targeting individuals who have experience watching LAN tour (virtual travel) content, collecting a total of 180 valid responses. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS23.0 and AMOS26.0 for frequency analysis, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling(SEM). Results All four LAN tour content characteristics-entertainment, credibility, informativeness, and indirect experience-were found to positively influence both the cognitive and emotional destination images. Furthermore, these destination images had significant effects on viewers’ willingness to pay in tourism and long-term stay intention. Conclusion This study suggests the potential of LAN tour content characteristics by demonstrating their influence on consumer tourism-related behaviors, namely willingness to pay and long-term stay intention. It implies that images formed through virtual experiences can impact actual visit intentions or economic value, providing important implications for the development of tourism content aimed at revitalizing local economies.