Traveling as a conspicuous experience: the role of self-presentation on social media

Purpose Conspicuous consumption serves as a key means of identity construction in modern society. As experiential purchases increasingly signal status, this study aims to examine conspicuous traveling and its influence on self-presentation on social media. Integrating the value-attitude-behavior and functional attitude theories, it explores how values shape conspicuous travel and tests posting frequency as a moderator between attitude functions and self-presentation behaviors. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive design was employed using an online survey of 606 young-adult respondents. Findings Materialism and conformity directly and indirectly influence online self-presentation of travel experiences, whereas hedonism and snobbism affect it only indirectly through value-expressive attitudes. Practical implications The findings offer actionable insights for destination marketers by clarifying how travelers' personal values and attitudes shape their online self-presentation and can be strategically leveraged to enhance destination branding. Originality/value This study enhances understanding of online conspicuous consumption through travel as self-expression. It offers a novel quantitative integration of the value-attitude-behavior and functional attitude theories in the context of experiential purchases.