From Digital Tourism Marketing to Travel Intention: The Mediating Role of Flow Experience in Modoinding Agritourism

Sjendry Loindong; Michael  Raintung; Raymond  Kawet

doi:10.63922/ijebir.v5i06.6920

Sjendry Loindong Universitas Sam Ratulangi
Michael Raintung Universitas Sam Ratulangi
Raymond Kawet Universitas Sam Ratulangi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63922/ijebir.v5i06.6920

Keywords: Digital Tourism Marketing, Flow Experience, Travel Intention, agritourism, destination marketing

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines how Digital Tourism Marketing is associated with prospective tourists' Travel Intention in Modoinding Agritourism and tests Flow Experience as the psychological mechanism linking digital destination communication with travel-related intention.

Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 150 prospective tourists familiar with Modoinding Agritourism, Indonesia. Respondents were selected using purposive sampling. The measurement and structural models were assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), with hypothesis significance evaluated through 5,000 bootstrap resamples.

Findings: Digital Tourism Marketing was positively associated with Flow Experience (β = 0.662, t = 6.615, p < .001), and Flow Experience was positively associated with Travel Intention (β = 0.489, t = 3.718, p < .001). The direct Digital Tourism Marketing–Travel Intention relationship was not statistically supported (β = 0.073, t = 0.487, p = .619), whereas the indirect effect through Flow Experience was significant (β = 0.324, t = 3.242, p = .001).

Research limitations/implications: Because the study uses cross-sectional, self-reported data and purposive sampling, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of relationships within the proposed model rather than definitive temporal causality or population-wide behavioral generalization. The outcome is Travel Intention and should not be equated with actual visitation.

Practical implications: Destination managers should evaluate digital tourism marketing not only through reach and visibility metrics but also through its capacity to sustain attention, involvement, and psychological immersion that can strengthen travel consideration.

Originality/value: The study refines the Stimulus–Organism–Response explanation of digital destination marketing by specifying Flow Experience as the organismic mechanism connecting Digital Tourism Marketing with Travel Intention in a pre-visit agritourism context. It thereby distinguishes digital exposure from the internal experiential process through which exposure becomes behaviorally relevant.

Keywords: Digital Tourism Marketing; Flow Experience; Travel Intention; Stimulus–Organism–Response; agritourism; destination marketing

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