Innovative Frontiers: Exploring Factors Influencing Travel Podcast Consumption in the Web 4.0 Era

Abstract

With the advent of Web 4.0, society is evolving online in every aspect. The online media platform and user-generated content have given a new face to people's interactions and communication, with the evolution of new media platforms and the changing consumption patterns of user-generated content. They have also become a new way of earning a livelihood for many. Among the various media influencers and business entrepreneurs' podcasts as a platform have proliferated in recent years, with millions of people listening to travel podcasts. This study aims to explore the unresearched terrain of travel podcast listening via exploring the consumption factors of travel podcasts and provide valuable insights for the travel podcast creators and, and destination stakeholders.  besides this paper is of the interest to the various researchers of the multiple domain like audio media, content, marketing, and tourism. The study involved a systematic literature review followed by a Delphi survey. A total of eleven factors are shortlisted via Delphi analysis as the prominent influencers of travel podcast listening. Authentic content and subjective norms are added as new factors to the existing list of literature, and a few factors are discarded based on the expert's viewpoints, e.g., fashion. The study unfolded various practical, conceptual, and managerial implications for tourist destination marketing managers, DMOs, and various stakeholders (the government and host community) in the tourism industry.