Examining the key factors of implementing digital storytelling to increase travel intentions to cultural heritage destinations

Cultural heritage plays a vital role in shaping a community’s identity and fostering a sense of belonging (Tweed and Sutherland, 2007). However, heritage sites often face challenges in attracting visitors because of ineffective marketing strategies, which can lead to them being overlooked or underfunded (Buakhwan et al., 2023). One effective approach to addressing this issue is through applying storytelling, a widely used promotional strategy in both corporate communication (Crocchi, 2019) and destination marketing. It creates strong attachments to destinations, influences attitudes and intentions and enhances brand awareness (Bosangit et al., 2015; Hay et al., 2022; van Laer et al., 2014).

This study is set in Sarawak because of its rich cultural diversity, including iconic attractions like Sarawak Cultural Village, longhouse, Fort Margherita and others. Despite Sarawak’s various attractive cultural heritage, it faces challenges in promoting its heritage sites because of ineffective marketing strategies. Zins and Abbas Adamu’s (2023) analysis of the official promotional websites of Sarawak revealed that the adoption of storytelling by destination marketing organisations is still in its early stages – thereby, justifying the need for a comprehensive framework for implementing storytelling in cultural heritage marketing. Studies also show that many destination branding videos and websites lack coherent storytelling, failing to differentiate from similar destinations (Alegro and Turnšek, 2020; Zins and Abbas Adamu, 2023). This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of narrative transportation (NT) and digital storytelling (DS) in promoting cultural heritage destinations.

By developing a conceptual framework, this research offers practical guidelines for marketers to use DS effectively. This study examines how DS influences travel intentions (TIs) and enhances the persuasiveness of promotional messages.

Cultural heritage includes tangible and intangible assets like architecture, artifacts, traditions and practices passed down through generations (Atalan, 2018; Vecco, 2010). These assets attract visitors to cultural tourism, generating funding and raising public awareness for heritage preservation (Liu and Shu, 2020). Cultural heritage tourism is a growing sector within the global tourism industry, drawing visitors to locations because of their heritage characteristics (Rogerson and van der Merwe, 2016). Using cultural heritage and natural resources fosters sustainable growth and enhances a nation’s competitiveness as a tourist destination (Dugulan et al., 2010). Beyond economic benefits, cultural heritage tourism allows tourists to appreciate heritage’s cultural, historical and social values, fostering emotional solidarity among locals and visitors, which is crucial for sustainable development (Lan et al., 2021; Zhou, 2021).

Marketing cultural heritage destinations involve challenges such as balancing conservation with tourism development, as increased tourist traffic or commercialisation can damage sites (Liu and Shu, 2020). Additionally, the diversity of stakeholders, including local communities, governments and tourism businesses, complicates marketing efforts (Li and Hunter, 2015). Effective promotion requires a comprehensive approach, including integrated marketing, niche market development and establishing distinctive brand equity (Collison and Spears, 2010; Rahman et al., 2021). DS is pivotal in this endeavour, effectively conveying heritage interpretation to the public (Vert et al., 2021).

Storytelling has always been essential to human communication, naturally conveying information and connecting people (Bassano et al., 2019; Patterson and Brown, 2005). In marketing, storytelling is a powerful tactic that engages customers emotionally, stimulating imagination and creating deep emotional bonds (Kim and Sullivan, 2019; Woodside et al., 2008). Research shows that storytelling enhances brand loyalty, strengthens company-audience bonds, improves brand reputation, promotes sustainable engagement and influences consumer purchase intentions and word-of-mouth sharing (Hong et al., 2022; Júnior et al., 2023; Kang et al., 2020; Shahrin et al., 2022; Tsai, 2020). In destination brand communication, storytelling builds emotional connections and customer loyalty, making it invaluable for marketers (Pachucki et al., 2022).

DS integrates traditional storytelling with digital media elements like text, images, videos and audio (Beck and Neil, 2020). This blend of traditional and modern techniques presents stories more effectively in digital spaces, resonating particularly well with a generation immersed in digital technologies (Gulsecen et al., 2015; Kahtali and Gençer, 2021). Studies show that DS can influence destination choices, as information and communication technologies amplify the impact of narratives in shaping travellers’ decisions (Chronis, 2012; Hsiao et al., 2013). In destination marketing, DS effectively increases visitor intentions, fosters brand relationships and enhances the travel experience (Pachucki et al., 2022). While prior studies (Bassano et al., 2019; Hsiao et al., 2013; Pachucki et al., 2022) establish the effectiveness of DS in various contexts, there is limited empirical research examining its application to cultural heritage destinations like Sarawak. Therefore, this study hypothesises that:

NT, as defined by Green and Brock (2000), occurs when an individual becomes thoroughly absorbed in a story, feeling lost in the story world. This deep engagement leads to cognitive, emotional and imagery involvement (Green and Clark, 2013). When individuals are immersed in a narrative, they become psychologically engrossed, distancing from reality and forming a deeper connection with the story (Green, 2006; Green and Brock, 2000; Green and Clark, 2013). The effects of transporting into a story world, such as character connections, realistic scenarios and vivid imagery, help stimulate new situations and transform beliefs and behaviours (Green, 2006).

The immersive nature of DS can trigger NT. Hence, this study predicts:

NT theory is a robust framework for shaping beliefs, actions, attitudes and intentions (Green, 2006; Green and Clark, 2013). By conveying emotionally compelling information through vivid imagery and reducing counterarguments, stories influence attitudes and motivate behavioural intentions. For those with established intentions, stories help translate these intentions into actual behaviour (Green, 2006). Research by Irimiás et al. (2021) demonstrates that engaging with stories positively affects TIs. Based on his study, we hypothesise that:

Persuasiveness refers to a message’s ability to influence an individual’s attitude or behaviour (Alhammad and Gulliver, 2014). Persuasive messages aim to alter attitudes or behaviours implicitly or explicitly (Loda et al., 2009; Pressgrove and Bowman, 2021). Narrative messages are often more effective than non-narrative ones because they reduce reactance and resistance to change (Oschatz and Marker, 2020). By embedding persuasive information within the story, narratives make their intent less obvious, lowering the likelihood of audience resistance (Pressgrove and Bowman, 2021).

When audiences are captivated by dramatic elements, their critical thinking decreases and immersion increases, making them less likely to counterargue (Moyer-Gusé, 2008). This heightened engagement allows persuasive messages to influence beliefs, attitudes and behaviours (Moyer-Gusé, 2008). The persuasive power of a narrative depends on the level of transportation experienced by participants; deeper immersion leads to more significant transformation (Appel and Richter, 2010; Berke, 2014). As NT lead to stronger persuasion (van Laer et al., 2014) and perceived persuasiveness can induce behavioural change (Drozd et al., 2012; Pounders et al., 2015), this study proposed the following hypotheses:

Behavioural intention refers to an individual’s anticipated future actions and can be measured by the likelihood of taking action (Li and Cai, 2012). NT and persuasiveness significantly shape TI (Irimiás et al., 2021; Pachucki et al., 2022). Research shows that consumers exposed to persuasive messages are more likely to express interest in purchasing (Huhn et al., 2018). Narratives enhance message persuasiveness by reducing counterarguments and fostering transportation, improving message processing and acceptance (Moyer-Gusé et al., 2012; Nan et al., 2017). Leveraging NT can effectively increase TI (Irimiás et al., 2021; Pachucki et al., 2022). Thus, NT enhances the persuasiveness of the entire message, influencing viewers’ TIs:

This study used factorial experimental design to examine the impact of DS on NT, PPPM and viewer’s TI, as it enables the researcher to analyse the individual effects of each factor on the outcome variable and the interactions between these factors and the outcome variable (Braga et al., 2014). Participants were exposed to two promotional materials: one incorporating DS and the other excluding it. The DS webpage included vivid narratives combined with visuals and an itinerary crafted to immerse viewers in the cultural richness of Sarawak (https://cheehengchang.wixsite.com/cch-tourism/about-3). In contrast, the non-DS only included an itinerary and images (https://cheehengchang.wixsite.com/cch-tourism/copy-of-img-txt-story-of-sarah). Data were collected using an online Qualtrics survey with randomisation to avoid selection bias; each participant was limited to one entry for consistency (Malhotra and Dash, 2017). Data was collected over three weeks in April 2024. Before completing the questionnaire, participants reviewed their assigned stimuli and were introduced to key concepts such as NT, perceived persuasiveness and TI to ensure accurate responses (Saunders et al., 2015). Ethical approval was obtained, and all participants provided informed consent before participating.

The questionnaire comprised four measures adopted or adapted from previous studies totalling 19 items on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree). NT was measured using the scale developed by Appel et al. (2015). The PPPM was assessed using a nine-item scale by Thomas et al. (2019). TI was measured with the scale by Shani et al. (2009).

The target population for this study is Generation Z individuals aged 18–27 years in Malaysia. This demographic is digital natives and represents a significant future consumer group (Liu et al., 2023). Conducting the study within Malaysia helped minimise the impact of cultural differences on TI. Online convenience sampling was chosen for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness (Malhotra and Dash, 2017). In all, 240 valid responses were obtained, exceeding the minimum sample size recommended by Hair et al. (2018), which recommended at least five times the number of variables analysed.

A pilot test with 44 members of Malaysia’s Generation Z led to revisions for clarity. Statistical tests validated the questionnaire, showing all items reliable and validated, with Cronbach’s alpha over 0.75, heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlation below 0.8 and average variance extracted above 0.5.

Data are analysed using multivariate and univariate techniques. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and confirmatory factor analysis assess reliability, validity and test hypotheses. PLS-SEM was chosen for its non-distributional assumption and bootstrapping technique (Hair et al., 2014). Mann–Whitney U tests compare independent groups. The analysis uses the software SmartPLS 4 and IBM SPSS Statistics V29.

The collected data resulted in 263 responses, after removing 23 respondents because of failing attention check questions or straight-liner responses on the Likert scale, leaving 240 usable responses. The respondents were predominantly aged 18–22 years (71%), with the remaining 29% aged 23–27 years. The gender split was 55% male and 45% female. Educationally, most were Bachelor’s degree graduates (37.92%), followed by Foundation graduates (29.17%), high school graduates (17.5%), Diploma graduates (12.92%) and Master’s degree graduates (2.08%). Malaysians made up 93% of the sample, with 7% from other nationalities.

Confirmatory factor analysis tested the measurement model. All items had factor loadings above 0.708, indicating acceptable item reliability (Hair et al., 2019). Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability values exceeded 0.9, demonstrating high internal consistency. Average variance extracted values were above 0.5, showing that each construct explains at least 50% of variance in its items (Hair et al., 2019). Discriminant validity was confirmed using the heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlation, with all values below 0.85 (Henseler et al., 2015).

A full collinearity test indicated no common method bias or collinearity, with VIF values below 3.3 (Kock, 2015) and 3 (Hair et al., 2019). The model showed moderate predictive accuracy for perceived persuasiveness (R² = 0.579) and TI (R² = 0.663) (Hair et al., 2011). Predictive relevance (Q²) values were positive, indicating the model outperformed the “most naïve benchmark” (Shmueli et al., 2019). All LM_MAE values exceeded PLS-SEM MAE values, indicating high predictive power (Shmueli et al., 2019).

Table 1 and Figure 1 show the path analysis results using SEM with a 95% confidence interval and 10,000 bootstraps. NT positively affects TI (β = 0.321 and t = 4.999), supporting H3. It also positively affects the PPPM (β = 0.762 and t = 25.766), supporting H4. The PPPM positively affects TI (β = 0.544 and t = 8.273), supporting H5. Effect sizes are 0.13 (H3, small), 1.383 (H4, large) and 0.373 (H5, large).

Bootstrapping of 10,000 subsamples was used to test the mediation effect of perceived persuasiveness (Preacher and Hayes, 2008). Results show it mediates the relationship between NT and TI (β = 0.415, t = 7.379 and p < 0.001), supporting H6. Both the direct effect (NT → TI) and indirect effect (NT → PPPM → TI) are significant and aligned in a positive direction. These findings indicate that the impact of NT on TI is partially mediated by PPPM. Moreover, NT independently accounts for a portion of TI, supporting the presence of complementary partial mediation (Carrión et al., 2017; Ramayah et al., 2018).

Because of data failing normality and homogeneity of variance assumptions, the Mann–Whitney U Test was used (Kim, 2015; McKnight and Najab, 2010). The test on 240 responses (120 per group) showed that TI significantly differed between groups (U = 4492, z = −5.051 and p < 0.001), supporting H1, which posits that DS in promotional material positively influences TI. Additionally, the Mann–Whitney U test for H2 revealed a significant difference in NT between groups (U = 4179, z = −5.622 and p < 0.001), supporting that DS directly affects NT.

The findings of H1, demonstrating that DS impacts viewer’s TI, align with previous research (Bassano et al., 2019; Hsiao et al., 2013; Li et al., 2024). This result supports the notion that cultural heritage destination marketers should implement DS to increase TI. However, many destination marketers fail to implement DS effectively, often resulting in promotional material that lacks diversity, originality, coherent plot, theme or narrative (Alegro and Turnšek, 2020; Zins and Abbas Adamu, 2023).

This study developed an empirically tested conceptual framework of NT, PPPM and TI to address these challenges. The results of H2 show that promotional material with DS leads to higher NT than material without DS, aligning with Green and Brock (2000). Both NT and PPPM significantly impact viewers’ TI towards promoted cultural heritage destinations. The findings of H3 align with Murphy et al. (2013) and Wong et al. (2016), showing that transported audiences have higher behavioural intention. H4 indicates that NT enhances viewer’s PPPM, supporting studies by Green and Brock (2000) and Donato and Dillow (2017). Additionally, PPPM significantly impacts viewer’s TI (H5), supporting Ye et al. (2021). H6 demonstrates that perceived persuasiveness mediates the relationship between NT and TI, indicating that more transported viewers feel more persuaded, thus increasing their TI.

For theoretical implications, this study contributes to the role of NT in shaping TI in several ways. First, it provides empirical evidence of the mediating role of perceived persuasiveness in the relationship between NT and TI. While previous studies have established the direct effects of NT (Green and Brock, 2000), this research demonstrates how perceived persuasiveness enhances its overall impact, offering deeper insight into the underlying mechanism. By bridging the concepts of NT, PPPM and TI, this study presents a comprehensive conceptual framework for future research. Second, the study addresses a geographical and demographic gap by focusing on Generation Z in Malaysia. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no prior research has examined the TI of Malaysian Generation Z towards cultural heritage destinations after exposure to DS. This study underscores the applicability of NT theory within a multicultural and digital-native demographic, contributing valuable insights to the literature.

This study provides practical insights for marketers to implement DS effectively, creating engaging and persuasive promotional material. The stimuli in this research can serve as a foundation for marketers to develop more engaging and visually appealing promotional materials, moving beyond traditional content that predominantly showcases landscape imagery. This study also identifies NT as a key success factor in promoting cultural heritage destinations. When audiences are fully immersed in the narrative, the persuasiveness of the embedded promotional messages is significantly enhanced. The necessity for destination marketers to use DS is highlighted, enhancing the overall appeal of cultural heritage destinations and increasing perceived persuasiveness, leading to higher TI.

Despite valuable insights, this study has limitations. Focusing on Generation Z in Malaysia limits the generalizability to other age groups and countries. Older generations or individuals from other countries may respond differently. Additionally, self-administered questionnaires adding (see Annexure) pose a risk of self-reporting bias despite anonymity procedures. Budget constraints and limited professional skills in video, photo editing and webpage design restricted the creation of high-quality stimuli, resulting in text and images instead of more engaging formats.

Future research should compare the effectiveness of various DS formats, such as videos, music and virtual reality, which can offer valuable insights for destination marketers. Expanding the demographic to include more age groups and countries will help create a more inclusive and effective marketing strategy. Through these recommendations, future studies can enhance the understanding and application of DS in promoting cultural heritage destinations, ultimately enhance the appeal of cultural heritage tourism.

This research is funded by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2022/SS01/CURTIN/01/1).

Ethical clearance: This research has received ethical clearance from the Human Research Ethics Office at Curtin University. The approval number is HRE2023-0539.