Title: Profiling social media-engaged tourists: a systematic review and pathways forward

Authors: Jijun Chen; Ying Lu; Yeonjung Kang; Pei Zhang

Addresses: White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, Marriott Hall 206, 900 Mitch Daniels Blvd., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA ' Department of Retailing and Tourism Management, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA ' Department of Retailing and Tourism Management, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA ' Experience Industry Management Department, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA

Abstract: With the rise of mobile usage, social media has transformed how people search for, share, and use travel-related information. Against this backdrop, this study examines social media-engaged tourists (SMTs) who utilise social media to acquire or share information for hospitality and tourism purposes. The study collected 165 empirical articles published in the five years preceding the pandemic. A systematic narrative review, guided by customer and criminal profiling methods, was conducted to develop a comprehensive profiling framework. The framework depicts SMTs' personal, social-psychological, and behavioural characteristics, as well as the interrelated relationships among these characteristics and external influential factors. This study not only enriches the understanding of tourist behaviour in the digital era but also provides practical insights for customer profiling across hospitality, tourism, and other service industries. We further propose a future research agenda to deepen the evolving role of social media in shaping tourist experiences and decision making.

Keywords: social media; hospitality and tourism industry; tourist profiles; customer profiling; criminal profiling method.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHEM.2026.154660

International Journal of Hospitality and Event Management, 2026 Vol.3 No.1, pp.30 - 51

Received: 13 Jan 2025
Accepted: 20 Aug 2025
Published online: 09 Jul 2026 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article