The digital era has brought immense attention to the tourism industry through the pervasive influence of social media. Social media content profoundly shapes travel aspirations among the Chinese Generation Z, mainly through short videos. This study aims to unravel the intricate dynamics between short videos and Gen Z’s travel preferences, shedding light on their motivations, environmental consciousness, and adoption of sustainable tourism practices. Three regression models were applied in this study to shed light on this correlation. The initial model examines factors influencing the general travel intentions of Chinese Gen Z. The subsequent model delves into determinants affecting the adoption of responsible tourism practices among Gen Z. Then, the last model identifies factors contributing to tourism-related environmental awareness among this population. Through empirical analysis conducted via a structured questionnaire administered to 506 Chinese Gen Z individuals, this study’s findings confirm that well-crafted short videos significantly impact the travel intentions of Chinese youth, thereby fostering responsible tourism practices and increasing environmental consciousness. This highlights the pivotal role of argumentation quality and source credibility in shaping Gen Z’s travel intentions, underscoring the importance of credibility in promoting responsible tourism practices and environmental awareness. Furthermore, this study analysis reveals that females exhibit greater susceptibility to the influence of short video content on travel decisions than males. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the critical role of integrating short video content into marketing strategies within the tourism sector, particularly in the Gen Z demographic.

Poverty is a key challenge to socioeconomic development globally. However, the degree to which distance from a market contributes to poverty remains unclear. To provide insights into this relationship, we quantified the relationships between distance from markets and the per capita income of rural and urban people in China based on data from 29 provinces and 2651 counties. Our results illustrate the existence of a “geographical curse”; that is, a large separation between producers and consumers can exacerbate poverty for less-affluent rural residents, who pay a larger proportion of their income to send their products to market and to purchase goods from those markets. Programs to alleviate poverty should therefore consider seeking solutions associated with reducing the impact of that distance, such as subsidizing the transport of goods, improving the transportation infrastructure, supporting innovative business practices, and balancing the locations of producers and their markets.

This paper delves into the analysis of the physical flow patterns of users and its subsequent influence on their purchasing behavior. The research methodology encompassed surveying a substantial sample size of 400 users actively engaged with travel applications. The gathered data underwent meticulous analysis employing a combination of descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling techniques. The findings from this study have unveiled noteworthy insights into user behavior within travel applications. It is evident that the inclination to engage with the system has a substantial and positive impact on users’ purchase intentions. Moreover, the motivation behind users’ system usage has a direct bearing on their purchase intentions, primarily mediated by the enjoyment derived from the overall experience. This research underscores the pivotal role played by travel applications in the contemporary travel industry landscape. As travelers increasingly rely on digital platforms to plan their trips and make informed choices, understanding the intricate dynamics of user engagement, motivation, and subsequent purchasing decisions within these applications is paramount. This deeper comprehension not only sheds light on consumer behavior but also empowers businesses to tailor their offerings and enhance user experiences, thereby solidifying the indispensable position of travel applications in the ever-evolving travel sector.

Through Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) on destination attractiveness characteristics at the country level, this study identifies attribute configurations in the pre- and post-pandemic period to analyze the changes and differences generated by an exogenous event (COVID-19). The results suggest that the destination attractiveness attributes work together, in multidimensional configurations, to increase leisure travel volume. We found an important change in pat-terns/configurations of attractiveness between the pre- and post-pandemic scenarios. Our findings suggest that the destination attributes may change in importance and valuation or disappear for some configurations. The conclusion has implications for the stakeholders related to the destination attractiveness development, showing possible patterns of tourism attributes to guide the action to improve the resilience in the tourism sector and recover these activities in a disaster scenario.