Abstract:
The archipelago of the Maldives is the primary source of attraction to many tourists visiting the country worldwide, making tourism the largest sector of the country's economy. However, with the start of a new decade, global challenges have become increasingly visible, and remote countries like the Maldives face extreme economic and environmental challenges. With the advancement of technology and social media marketing being worthwhile strategic positioning tools, this study investigates the different social media attributes that can influence tourists' intention to revisit green resorts in the Maldives. These attributes include sharing of content, accessibility, and credibility. The study also aims to determine whether such features can contribute to building the resorts' green image. The social information processing theory was kept as a basis of the conceptual framework proposed in this study. Hence, this study examines the selected variables by proposing a conceptual framework and empirically testing the social media attributes that can enhance the green image and promote sustainable tourism in the Maldives. A quantitative research method was employed in this study. The primary data was collected through an online survey questionnaire distributed to the Maldives resorts that use social media, which yielded 140 usable responses. For data analysis, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling using SmartPLS was utilized to analyze the data. The results confirmed that sharing content and accessibility positively affect the green image, which drives tourists' intention to revisit. However, credibility did not exert any effect on green image and tourist's intention to revisit. The study provides a prodigious scope for marketing practitioners of the tourism industry. It provides insight into building a successful social media marketing strategy, enhancing the green image and tourist's intention to revisit. Furthermore, it contributes to the existing literature on green image and effective social media marketing in sustainable tourism by examining new linkages such as the role of green image as a mediator between social media attributes and tourist's intention to revisit.
