Scroll, watch, travel: an integrative framework of short-form video influence in destination marketing and place branding

Abstract This study systematically reviews empirical research on short-form video platforms in destination marketing and place branding to examine how these platforms shape tourists’ attitudes, electronic word-of-mouth, and behavioral intentions. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, 33 empirical studies published between 2022 and 2025 were identified from Scopus and Web of Science and synthesized through thematic analysis. Seven themes emerged: technology acceptance and platform adoption; source credibility and influencer persona; content characteristics and cognitive-affective processing; parasocial and relational mechanisms; content source and format contingencies; generational and individual-difference moderators; and engagement dynamics in platform-native data. These themes are organized into a four-stage integrative framework (platform entry, stimulus encoding, psychological processing, and behavioral response), that maps the sequential and contingent relationships among constructs drawn from Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)/Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2), source credibility, Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R), parasocial interaction, and mental imagery theories. The framework’s primary contribution is connecting these theoretical constructs, which prior studies have used separately, into a unified processing architecture, showing how they interact within a structured processing sequence rather than operating as isolated explanatory lenses, while identifying critical gaps: the absence of observed tourist behavior, destination image as an outcome, and negative processing mechanisms. By integrating these strands, the study provides a structured basis for future empirical testing and offers managerially relevant insights for destination promotion in short-form video environments.