Data for: Why do people share their travel experiences on social media?

Tourism practices and destination decisions are more and more affected by the opinions of trusted friends channeled through social media, and it is therefore of great interest to explore the role that this plays in the travel context. It is also valuable to understand the behaviour of people commonly known as “lurkers”, who travel but do not share their experiences with others. We draw on social influence theory and its three constructs – identification, internalization, and compliance, as well as the users’ personality, to investigate these issues. Based on 381 responses, findings reveal two dominant reasons: first, perceived enjoyment was the most important motive for travellers to share their travel experiences on online networks and travel websites. Second, security and privacy issues are the top latent reasons. This study extends the tourism literature by combining all online behaviours into one single model. We also provide suggestions for further research.