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ABSTRACT

TODAY, SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MAIN MARKETING STRATEGIES USED BY MARKETERS AND PRACTITIONERS TO TARGET TRAVELERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. MACAU IS A CITY THAT RELIES HEAVILY ON TOURISM FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS TOURISTS’ CHOICES TO TRAVEL TO MACAU. THIS STUDY EXPLORES THE ROLE OF THE POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM XIAOHONGSHU IN INFLUENCING CHINESE TOURISTS’ TRAVEL DECISIONS AND INFORMATION ACQUISITION WHEN VISITING MACAU. THIS ARTICLE USES QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS TO CONDUCT SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH 15 PARTICIPANTS. RESEARCH SHOWS TRAVELERS RELY ON XIAOHONGSHU’S USER-GENERATED CONTENT AND DETAILED GUIDES. FOOD, ROUTE SELECTION AND ITINERARY ARRANGEMENTS, AND SHORT-TERM ITINERARY ARRANGEMENTS ARE THE MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED SEARCH TAGS BY TRAVELERS. THE PLATFORM’S PERSONALIZED RECOMMENDATIONS AND EFFICIENT CONTENT PRESENTATION ENHANCE THE USER EXPERIENCE, BUT CONCERNS ABOUT CONTENT CREDIBILITY REMAIN, ESPECIALLY THE POTENTIAL FOR COMMERCIAL BIAS IN FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS. TRAVELERS ASSESS THE CREDIBILITY OF CONTENT THROUGH A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES, INCLUDING LOOKING AT MULTIPLE POSTS, EVALUATING USER INTERACTIONS, AND THE PLATFORM’S IP ADDRESS DISPLAY CAPABILITIES. ALTHOUGH TRAVELERS PAY MORE ATTENTION TO POSITIVE REVIEWS WHEN DECIDING TO TRAVEL TO MACAU, USERS ALSO CONSIDER TRAVEL PITFALLS POSTS TO IMPROVE THEIR TRAVEL EXPERIENCE. IN ADDITION, TRAVELERS ARE LESS WILLING TO SHARE CONTENT ON THE XIAOHONGSHU PLATFORM AFTER THE TRIP, WHICH IS ATTRIBUTED TO PERSONAL HABITS AND PERCEIVED CREATIVITY COMPLEXITY. THE RESEARCH RESULTS PROVIDE RELEVANT PRACTITIONERS WITH THE PERSPECTIVES AND DECISION-MAKING BEHAVIORS OF CHINESE TRAVELERS WHO USE XIAOHONGSHU WHEN MAKING ITINERARIES TO MACAU, AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR THEIR MARKETING STRATEGIES.