Psychological pathways of flow experience and destination image in nature-based tourism: The role of social media influencers

This study examines how parasocial interaction with social media influencers triggers authentic cognitive and affective processing in the absence of direct experience. Drawing on attachment theory, mental-imagery research, and flow theory, we propose and empirically test a dual-pathway model of anticipatory motivation in the context of prospective nature-based experiences. Deep involvement with influencer-generated content about natural environments was hypothesised to elicit (a) vicarious flow states characterized by focused attentional absorption, temporal dissociation, and intrinsic enjoyment, and (b) favorable cognitive-affective mental representations of a target natural setting. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) on data from 293 participants, results confirmed that influencer involvement exerts a significant direct effect on behavioral intention and strong indirect effects via flow experience (partial mediation) and cognitive-affective destination image (partial mediation). Notably, destination image significantly enhanced flow experience, demonstrating that mental imagery acts as an affective priming mechanism for immersive processing. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that mediated symbolic stimuli can induce genuine pre-experiential emotional attachment and immersive cognitive absorption, thereby extending attachment and flow theories to purely digital, anticipatory contexts. The results highlight the interplay of affective bonding, mental simulation, and attentional immersion as core psychological mechanisms underlying anticipatory motivation.