The combined influence of social and technological

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and recommendations and future-work section and stated research gap of the source papers, classified as general, spanning 3 journals.

Supporting evidence — 6 representative gaps

• Social media and environmentally sustainable tourism: insights from a systematic literature review of the tourist perspective (2026) · Information Technology & Tourism · doi

  clarity while capturing the multidimensionality identified in prior research. It is theoretically grounded in the complementary perspectives of Affordance Theory (Evans et al. 2017; Hutchby 2001) and Social Practice Theory (Schatzki 2019; Shove et al. 2012; Reckwitz 2002), which together provide the conceptual logic linking sociodigital structures with tourism-related practices. The model operates on two complementary levels: a process-oriented level that visualizes how antecedents, mechanisms of practice configuration, practices, and effects are interconnected, and a foundational theoretical level that conceptualizes social media as an affordance-based infrastructure that both reproduces and shapes tourism practices. At the input stage, social media are conceptualized as a unified socio-digital infrastructure rather than a set of isolated variables. This antecedent block encompasses UGC, platform affordances and algorithms, content visibility and circulation dynamics, as well as patterns of exposure and participation, which jointly define the conditions under which tourism-related information, experiences, and environmental sustainability signals are produced, encountered, and interpreted. As highlighted in 1 3A. Janik, A.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: social practice socio digital tourism practices content complementary affordance theory related level antecedents mechanisms configuration
• Social media and environmentally sustainable tourism: insights from a systematic literature review of the tourist perspective (2026) · Information Technology & Tourism · doi

  Our SLR identifies a set of interrelated research gaps that are best understood not as isolated deficiencies but as missing links within the conceptual model presented in Fig. 4. These gaps correspond to four complementary research avenues, each reflecting underexplored mechanisms through which socio-digital antecedents are translated into tourism-related practices and outcomes. Importantly, these avenues collectively point to the need to move beyond fragmented, outcome-oriented analyses toward a more integrated, mechanism-driven theorization of how social media shape environmentally sustainable tourism. Across these avenues, future research should move beyond the dominance of single-method and cross-sectional designs, which limit causal inference and temporal sensitivity. What is required is a shift toward research designs capable of capturing processes rather than merely static relationships. In particular, longitudinal and experimental approaches, combined with behavioral tracking across the tourist journey, are essential for understanding how exposure, interpretation, and action unfold over time and for addressing the persistent intention–behavior gap. Cross-cultural, 1 3Social media and environmentally sustainable tourism: insights from a… 46 Page 22 of 44 cross-generational, and cross-platform comparisons are equally critical, not only as robustness checks but also as a means of theorizing context dependency in digitally mediated sustainability transitions (Bou Aragones et al. 2025; Chan and Imad 2024; Luong and Nguyen 2025). From the perspective of advancing knowledge on the use of social media data to analyze and manage tourism flows at environmentally sustainable destinations, existing research demonstrates the analytical promise of UGC but remains constrained by limited theorization of how platform-specific infrastructures shape what can be observed and inferred. Platform bias, sample selectivity, and data instability are not merely technical limitations but constitutive features of socio-digital systems that may systematically distort representations of tourism flows (Barros et al. 2019, 2020; Tenkanen et al. 2017; Walden-Schreiner et al. 2018). Differences in platform architectures, algorithmic exposure, and user composition may produce divergent spatio-temporal patterns, particularly in data-scarce contexts (Heikinheimo et al. 2017; Wilkins et al. 2021b). In addition, geolocation inaccuracies and semantic inconsistencies further complicate inference (Fisher et al. 2019; Ghermandi et al. 2020; Mangachena et al. 2023). Future research should therefore move beyond treating UGC as a neutral proxy and instead explicitly incorporate platform infrastructures as active components of social media dynamics.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: tourism platform social media cross avenues move beyond environmentally sustainable gaps socio digital toward theorization
• Social media and environmentally sustainable tourism: insights from a systematic literature review of the tourist perspective (2026) · Information Technology & Tourism · doi

  Limited integration of tourism practices as both outcomes of social media influence and drivers of evolving social media dynamics over time. The findings demonstrate that UGC from social media constitutes a valuable resource for analyzing and managing tourist flows at environmentally sustainable destinations (RQ1). Social media data facilitate the estimation of visitation intensity and spatiotemporal variability, the identification of tourism hotspots, and the analysis of activity patterns and drivers of destination popularity, particularly in contexts where traditional monitoring approaches are difficult or costly to implement. At the same time, the review highlights important limitations related to platform-specific bias, selective user representation, and geolocation uncertainty, all of which constrain the validity and generalizability of such analyses. This review further confirms that social media play a pivotal role in shaping the image of environmentally sustainable destinations and influencing travelers’ intentions (RQ2). Empirical studies highlight the importance of UGC, eWOM, and influencer-related factors such as authenticity, credibility, and engagement in shaping 1 3Social media and environmentally sustainable tourism: insights from a… 46 Page 28 of 44 positive destination perceptions and motivating eco-friendly travel decisions. However, the literature remains largely focused on self-reported intentions, with limited insight into how sustainability-related perceptions translate into actual travel behavior across diverse cultural, generational, and platform contexts. With regard to tourists’ perceptions, experiences, and values, the analysis shows that social media provide rich insights into how environmentally sustainable destinations are evaluated and discussed (RQ3). Reviews and social media posts are widely used to assess perceptions of pro-environmental practices, map visitor experiences and satisfaction, and identify attributes shaping the value assigned to nature-based and sustainable destinations. At the same time, the review reveals persistent shortcomings, including the dominance of English-language content, limited testing of explanatory mechanisms, and insufficient procedures for verifying the credibility and authenticity of UGC. Finally, the reviewed literature highlights social media as a key driver of tourists’ environmental mindset formation throughout the travel cycle (RQ4). Existing studies show that social media engagement shapes environmental awareness, values, trust, pro-environmental intentions, and reported behaviors. However, the predominance of cross-sectional and self-reported designs limits the understanding of how environmentally sustainable mindsets develop over time and how they translate into recurring tourism practices.

  generalrecommendationsevidence 5/5
  Keywords: social media sustainable tourism time environmentally review perceptions environmental limited practices destinations related shaping travel
• Unpacking the drivers of tourists’ social media content creation: an empirical investigation (2026) · Quality & Quantity · doi

  Further research could investigate the impact of other factors on travel-related content creation on social media, - Future studies could explore the differences in social media content creation behaviors among tourists from different regions, - The study suggests that future research could examine the role of social media influencers in shaping tourists' behavioral intentions

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: further research investigate impact other factors travel-related content
• Effects of Source Credibility and Short Video Platform Quality on Tourist Attitudes and Travel Intention: Moderating Role of Parasocial Interaction (2026) · Jurnal Ragam Pengabdian · doi

  The combined influence of social and technological factors on tourists' attitudes remains underexplored. The role of parasocial interaction in shaping tourists' attitudes and travel intention is not well understood. The influence of source credibility and short video platform quality on tourists' attitudes and travel intention is not fully understood.

  generalstated research gapevidence 4/5
  Keywords: combined influence social technological factors tourists attitudes remains
• Effects of Source Credibility and Short Video Platform Quality on Tourist Attitudes and Travel Intention: Moderating Role of Parasocial Interaction (2026) · Jurnal Ragam Pengabdian · doi

  Future studies should consider the role of other factors, such as destination image and personal motivation, in shaping tourists' attitudes and travel intention. Future studies should explore the influence of source credibility and short video platform quality on tourists' attitudes and travel intention in different cultural contexts. Future studies should use a mixed-methods approach to capture the full complexity of the phenomenon.

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 4/5
  Keywords: future studies consider role other factors destination image

Questions about this gap