Consumers increasingly share their daily-life stories on social media, leading to a rise in digital narrative content (Van Laer et al., 2019b). However, for special groups, especially the Gen Z, unlike previous generations, Gen Z travellers are more likely to seek values-driven experiences that support self-exploration and meaningful interaction with local communities (Ribeiro et al., 2025; Wattanacharoensil et al., 2024). More importantly, as digital natives raised in an era of constant connectivity, this cohort relies heavily on social media, online platforms, and digital content to inform decisions, shape perceptions, and find emotional resonance (Stipsits, 2024). Within this digitally mediated landscape, popular formats such as reality shows, YouTube, travel vlogs, TikTok videos, and Instagram stories have played a powerful role in influencing travel decisions (Choi, 2025). Meanwhile, compared to other marketing methods, the targeted promotion model of short videos gives it a significant advantage in attracting traffic and increasing consumer engagement (Zhang et al., 2025). This reduces the brand promotion costs. Therefore, short video commerce has become an emerging strategy for e-commerce enterprises to acquire user traffic and achieve profitability (Xiao et al., 2023). Based on the continuous increase in the number of short video users and their growing dependence on short videos. Tourism research has consistently focused on video due to its disruptive effects on promoting destination spots in the new media age, exemplified by a previous incident in which Xi’an was engulfed in flames over short videos (Lei et al., 2020). Concurrently, several scholars focus primarily on tourism microfilms to investigate their influence on the marketing and promotional impact of urban cultural imagery and destination spots, and to examine the variance in the perceived impact of these images and destinations before and after viewing the microfilms.

From a user perspective, Wei et al. (2022) noted that consumers’ perceived warmth and competence of short video influencers affect engagement behaviors. In addition, Gan et al. (2023) found that users’ visual perspectives interact with visual content, which is moderated by the narrative information’s attractiveness. Dong et al. (2024) determined the influence of content alignment, information pertinence, narrativity, and emotional elements in short videos on consumer engagement. Meanwhile, from the perspective of short video content creators themselves, a number of studies have examined the role of internet celebrities in STVs, highlighting their ability to evoke audience emotions toward both the video and the destination (Wu and Lai, 2024). Therefore, this study will also, based on the characteristics and functionalities of the single-case study method, select short video travel bloggers from the broad pool of travel video creators who are relatively well-known, have substantial traffic, and are representative within China.

Short travel videos excel in conveying messages and narrating stories, outshining both textual and visual content in terms of informational richness, thus boosting audience engagement and spurring their travel enthusiasm. Consequently, the study of tourism short videos has evolved into a multifaceted, cross-disciplinary domain. This investigation concentrates on the elements of narrative and communication, facilitating an in-depth and comprehensive scientific analysis of the videos’ substance and format. As an example, Tussyadiah and Fesenmaier delved into the utilization of brief travel videos featuring diverse storytelling motifs, examining their possible uses and practicality in the production of tourism videos. Tussyadiah and Fesenmaier analyzed different narrative themes in travel videos, investigating the role of storytelling in boosting audience involvement (Xiong, 2023). Short travel videos fulfill two roles: firstly, short-form tourism video (STV) have become an important digital tool, reshaping digital marketing strategies by driving high engagement and conversion rates, including in destination marketing (Manic, 2024). These videos have significantly altered how destinations communicate with potential tourists through their ability to rapidly connect with audiences (Tan et al., 2025) and secondly, they enable tourists to delve into the atmosphere and culture of these locales online prior to arrival, thus boosting their travel enthusiasm. As a result, this study will concentrate on the narrative logic behind short videos and investigate the creation of a unique approach for short tourism videos using diverse storytelling styles, formats, and materials.

They introduced the narrative transportation theory in 2000, characterized as the unique psychological phenomenon of “immersion” within a narrative, encompassing focus, feelings, and visual representations. In doing so, the theory of narrative transmission confirms the phenomenon that storytellers use narratives to persuade audiences to accept certain signals or take action, and it has been used to better understand and assess the cognitive processes of audiences (Green, 2004). As both a state of cognitive and emotional absorption and an experiential phenomenon, narrative transportation emerges when consumers engage deeply with a story presented in an advertisement (Van Laer et al., 2019a). This immersion is facilitated by narrative persuasion (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003; Oatley, 1999), which makes storytelling a powerful tool for shaping consumer attitudes and brand perceptions (Deb et al., 2025).

Within the tourism sector, the aforementioned situation arises among users; and convey the cultural, emotional, and ethical essence of the destination. Narrative transmission is a method employed to analyze the communication signals shared between travel bloggers and their followers. However, this marketing-oriented, interpretive narrative approach could widen the divide between travel bloggers and their audience, hindering effective information sharing and value-sharing discussions. At the heart of destination marketing lies a transition from focusing on content to crafting narratives (Zhou and Cai, 2018). Narrative itself is the process of meaning-making (Zhou, 2020). Tourism destinations have their own unique regional culture and historical stories, which are often processed by various travel bloggers and delivered to users in the form of short videos. With the collaboration of travel short videos with major tourist destinations and the rapid growth of e-commerce and live streaming, also as consumers vertically scroll through short video advertising content, they are inundated with an abundance of visual, acoustic, and linguistic information associated with products or services (Xiao et al., 2025). These sensory stimuli influence consumers’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses (Krishna, 2012), ultimately shaping their purchase decisions (Li and Pan, 2023).

As a result, it is clear that the unique historical and cultural traits of tourist destinations attract tourists, while tourists themselves are drawn to the unique and meticulously designed narrative methods used by various travel bloggers. At the same time, the narrative transmission of tourism destinations promotes the composition of the tourism destination image (Green and Brock, 2000). The narrative image series in tourism short videos influences the actual effect of tourism destination narrative transmission (Zhou, 2020). Therefore, based on the aforementioned narrative transportation theory framework and relevant influencing factors, this study primarily examines auditory elements within short tourism videos—specifically background music and voiceover narrative text—to analyze the narrative mechanisms employed by prominent Chinese travel bloggers. This investigation aims to establish a content production model for future creators of travel short videos and enhance tourism destination marketing strategies.

The study selected a preliminary approach based solely on a single case study. The main focus of this study is on how the blogger applies her unique characteristics and the specific narrative style of the brief video to develop a formula for short travel videos, highlighting the examination and improvement of the narrative transmission process, culminating in the adoption of the exploratory single-case study method. Primary factors are: first, the exploratory single-case study method is suitable for exploring the “what” and “how” elements of research inquiries (YINR, 2013), and second, this technique allows for a more in-depth exploration and improvement of the storytelling aspects in a blogger’s brief videos. Through detailed examination and enhancement, one can learn to develop the storytelling elements and style of short tourism videos, aiming to forge the intricate process of the tourism short video explosion formula. Furthermore, case studies are adept at honing the basic concepts and theoretical underpinnings of specific occurrences, thus aiding in the discovery of novel perspectives and principles (Gioia et al., 2013; Tracey et al., 2018).

The focus of this study is on the video blogger, a renowned national tour guide and travel anchor, who is the subject of the case study. To begin with, regarding the case’s representativeness: By the end of February 2025, the video blogger had garnered 461,000 followers and 11,294,000 likes on the Bilibili platform, a notable benchmark for creators of short videos on the platform. Furthermore, regarding the conduct of the case, official records reveal that the video blogger was designated as a part-time teacher by Zhejiang Tourism Vocational College in November 2009. By 2019, he had begun employing a concise video format to elucidate the local traditions and historical stories of picturesque international locations. Consequently, the blogger possesses an extensive knowledge of tourism and concise video content. Third, the video blogger’s case study’s congruence with the theoretical goal is clear: His esteemed position and popularity on the Bilibili arise from both his own experiences and the era’s advantages, as well as his unique narrative techniques. Included are narratives that merge tourism with indigenous culture, and his adeptness in employing common and casual language to impart historical and geographical knowledge to his audience, thus drawing a varied user demographic. This corresponds with the theoretical goal of improving how narratives are conveyed in brief tourist videos. Fourth, the accessibility of case data—including Bilibili real-time commenting feature and publicly available user interaction metrics such as video play counts, likes, shares, and comments—supports the interactive examination of this research on video storytelling, narrative elements, and related remarks.

The case data for this study originates from the textual content of the blogger’s top 500 brief travel video stories, spanning from February 2020 to February 2025, available on the Bilibili. By employing Xunfei Hear software, the writer converts video speech into written text, accumulating more than 294,000 words of narration, essential for developing a blogger’s concise tourism video narrative system, and incorporates NVIVO software for level-4 procedural coding. Qualitative approaches can uncover the nuanced psychological and behavioral responses of audiences to different STV advertisement formats (Tan et al., 2025). Therefore, in order to fully utilize the video narration texts collected in this study and to deeply analyze the micro-mechanisms of narrative transmission in the blogger’s videos, this study mainly follows a text-based analysis approach.

Data examination utilizes a case study approach (YINR, 2013) to enhance the conceptual structure for narrative in short tourism films. New viewpoints are driving further data collection and analysis, making the analytical method outdated (Lei, 2025). In detail, concepts were developed, compiled, and integrated in response to key research inquiries, derived from user feedback and video evaluations. Initially, post text data purification, the initial video narration is divided, followed by a thorough examination of all texts to create an initial impression. Following this, key ideas are formulated, climaxing with the video narration of “Sichuan and Chongqing dialects,” “suspenseful questioning,” “psychological anti-commonsense,” and 188 essential concepts, culminating in the enhancement of 60 sub-categories like “dialect stems,” “questioning sentences,” “anti-commonsense statements,” among others. Consequently, 60 subcategories like “dialectal stem,” “question,” and “anti-commonsense statement” were derived, and these subcategories were organized, condensed, and amalgamated to create 21 primary categories, including “vocabulary type,” “sentence features,” and “person perspective.” Table 1 displays the primary 21 categories. Concurrently, due to the copious textual material in this research, traditional three-tier coding was utilized to conduct diverse comparisons, analyses, summaries, and enhancements at four distinct stages of coding (refer to Table 1): linguistic attributes, storytelling techniques, emotional inclinations, and functional goals.

Similarly, by analyzing the textual feedback from users, this study identified 78 fundamental ideas such as “strategy request,” “utility value judgment,” and “humorous feedback,” and further refined 26 subcategories, including “content-specific request,” “information utility acquisition,” and “content enjoyment.” Through the application of these concepts, 26 unique subcategories emerged, encompassing “content-specific requests,” “acquisition of information utility,” and “enjoyment of content.” Subsequently, an overview of ten principal categories was presented, encompassing “explicit needs,” “functional experience,” and “emotional experience.” Owing to the extensive textual material, the extraction of four distinct levels—basic user experience, interactive participation, user needs, and value recognition—was completed (see Table 2).

Ultimately, the process of saturation testing and model building is completed. The study employs video narration, commentary, and sample-based coding to examine four narrative forms of short videos: introductions to destinations, sharing travel experiences, suggestions for tourist attractions, and scenic spots, in order to establish an initial theoretical model. To confirm the theory’s saturation, the study further selects the last two short tourism video types for the saturation test. Through random selection and examination of the text, no additional categories or connections were identified, nor were any new elements formed within the primary categories. Consequently, it can be deduced that the theoretical framework for encoding and replicating the essence of video narratives and user comments in this study is well-defined.

Observations have been made that employing rhetorical methods like questioning and metaphors in titles can amplify the empathetic impact of brief news video stories (Chen, 2023). The blogger’s short travel video features unique labels on its cover and title. The video’s title and opening, derived from its coding outcomes, predominantly employ rhetorical tactics like questioning and nonsensical remarks, such as, “What is the true nature of the mansion constructed with 200 million dollars?” “What lies beneath the West Lake?” Video titles like “What You Haven’t Heard: The Gods Also Have a Test” and similar ones, featuring suspenseful elements and irrational remarks, can quickly capture viewers’ attention and spark their interest. They employ delayed-answer storytelling techniques, where the initial 5 seconds don’t show the location’s name. Instead, “Here” and “this place” serve as alternatives, such as “This is where the Bull Demon King fought in the past”, If you have a piece of this, the best place by the West Lake in Hangzhou is the best place to change a set. West Lake in Hangzhou is renowned as a prime location for numerous villas, attracting more viewers to watch the video and boosting the success rate of short tourism videos.

Furthermore, the blogger employs sensory terminology for content narration, with the imagery and audio in the short video mirroring the visual and auditory representations of the sensory symbols. Short videos, by deeply engaging with sensory symbols, transcend mere “information transmission” to act as a catalyst that stimulates the sensory recollections of viewers, culminating in the enveloping sensation of “viewing video equates to cloud travel.” For the audience, visual symbols are the most direct, unique, and intuitive attraction, amplifying the first impression and enhancing the unique cultural characteristics and emotional atmosphere of the blogger’s video, exemplified by “Yinchuan City Pagoda, towering into the clouds,” and “glowing droplets of blue, grass, and trees turning into mountains and forests.” The metamorphosis of grass and trees into mountains and woodlands occurs, accompanied by various visual stories.

Nonetheless, the use of auditory symbols may trigger emotional and memory responses in users by compensating for the visual content in videos. Music in the background fosters an environment for emotional exchange by expressing feelings (Huang and Qiu, 2019), encouraging individuals to connect with the material from their perspective, thereby motivating them to engage in or initiate their communicative actions (Chang et al., 2023): Primarily, it involves utilizing background noises, like the noise of rain hitting a plantain, the echoes of remote commentaries, and the gurgling of streams, to immerse users in the setting, from viewing to experiencing the attractions. Secondly, the blogger skillfully leverages the unique regional traits of their birthplace, ingeniously incorporating local dialects and annotating the pronunciation in the subtitles. This approach not only accentuates the distinct features of these regional dialects but also aids in fostering a sense of pride in the regional culture among users, thereby narrowing the gap between them and the blogger. Thirdly, leverage the influence of ambient music in enhancing video expression, rather than relying solely on “Netflix music.” This approach involves aligning background music with the video’s regional features and stories, exemplified by titles like “Premier Zhou Enlai’s Life,” “Jianchuan Museum,” “the world’s largest museum,” “the world’s largest museum,” “the world’s largest museum,” “the world’s largest museum,” and “the world’s largest museum.” Rather than relying on “Netflix Music,” the choice of background music should be based on unique regional features and story elements, with “My Motherland and I” serving as the backdrop for “Premier Zhou Enlai’s Life,” “Jianchuan Museum,” and “731 Bacteriological Warfare,” among other red revolutionary themes, effectively stimulating the red genetic and memory of the audience (see Figure 1).

In the central part of the blogger’s brief travel video, the blogger predominantly uses narratives that fold over time and space, along with multiple storylines, to enhance the depth of the information in the video. Additionally, they choose multi-scene transitions to avoid excessive details and slow progression. Concurrently, the blogger employs a task-oriented storytelling approach to guide the audience through the video’s development, establishing distinct objectives or obstacles and amplifying the feeling of engagement and interaction.

Initially, releasing the task activates the user’s “desire to complete,” sparks curiosity about the outcome, boosts user engagement, and ensures they remain engaged with the video. Next, the introduction of obstacles ignites the user’s “desire to conquer,” increases their drive and eagerness to finish the video task, thereby enhancing user involvement. During the third stage, access for users is made available. Next, by overcoming challenges, ignites the user’s ambition to excel, boosts their drive and eagerness to finish the video activity, and increases their engagement. Subsequently, these accomplishments are revealed to satisfy the user’s sense of achievement, endowing the video with emotional significance. Consequently, we fully leverage the engaging narrative of the experience to amplify the “local” ambiance. For instance, we capture the blogger’s mountain ascents and explorations of old towns from an initial viewpoint, using everyday phrases to immerse the audience in the action, enhance their perception of reality, and incorporate ASMR sound effects and dynamic lenses to simulate the viewer’s vision, creating a “personal” sensation in the video. Using ASMR sounds and dynamic lenses creates an immersive experience, making the observer feel as though they are journeying directly through the lens rather than merely observing it.

Nonetheless, the blogger’s brief travel clips, varying in narrative style, convey distinct emotional meanings and evoke a variety of emotional responses in users through diverse emotional expressions. As an illustration, short videos depicting travel experiences and character narratives utilize the restorative emotional power found in scenes such as the “sea of clouds rolling,” “mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas,” along with phrases like “longing to escape the hustle and bustle of the city; why not come to the Five Fingers Peak?” “Experiencing the ethereal craftsmanship of nature” serves as a therapeutic element in tourism, enabling users to unwind during leisure moments. It is a type of short video that introduces destinations and narrates character stories, leveraging nostalgia and a humanistic emotional appeal to focus on scenes that resonate with the essence of the era, blending historical elements to evoke recollections across various age demographics. Consequently, the use of witty, humorous, and intense adventure videos serves to regulate user emotions, alleviate aesthetic weariness, and set the stage for emotional adaptation and behavioral guidance in the final sections that follow (see Figure 2).

Concluding the brief travel video, employing emotional resonance and social currency to induce emotional sublimation and social cues, the video incorporates strategic elements, grassy allure, and additional storytelling to foster commercial transformation and branding, thereby instilling in the audience a feeling of “memory” or an urge for prompt action! Audiences will experience a feeling of “recollection” or a “yearning for swift action”. Simultaneously, the core message of the video is captured in a declaration highlighting the significance of humanism, history, and ethics, exemplified by statements like, “The goal of recalling history is not to remember hostility, but to prevent the reemergence of historical calamities,” and “Master Hongyi’s life is simultaneously legendary and remarkable. Receiving life’s splendor and riches makes it challenging to set aside” among other remarks, to realize the impact of emotions, patterns, and the principles of triple sublimation. Furthermore, via statements like “he resides in Li Ziba, this is unknown to us, have the opportunity to visit his memorial,” and “friends watching this video, I trust you’ll extend your heartfelt wishes to the motherland in my remarks, wishing our nation and our generation prosper! In the context of” self-improvement” and similar concepts that foster social engagement, produce content that can be shared, boasted, and discussed, enabling users to engage in the social network of conversation and identity, thereby proactively spreading the video. Ultimately, by intricately narrating material symbols and using close-up shots to showcase products with local features, the process of commercial transformation and branding is finalized (see Figure 3).

Initially, the study delves into the internal workings of how tourism short videos are transmitted, grounded in the concept of narrative transmission. Presently, numerous academics concentrate their studies on the communicative influence of brief tourism videos, their extensive effect on the behavioral intentions of tourists, and how these videos mold the reputation of tourist spots. Nonetheless, detailed studies are lacking on how short tourism videos are transmitted narratively and in the creation of their content itself. Consequently, this document compiles textual data from video narration and titles to formulate the storytelling trajectory of tourism short videos, described as “persona shaping-cover design-title formula-narrative narration-three-dimensional emotional sound field”.

Furthermore, the majority of modern research on brief tourism videos adheres to conventional social science research techniques, such as gathering data via manual coding, conducting questionnaires, interviews, etc., and integrating empirical studies, etc. in the context of the research paradigm (Yin, 2009). Amidst the swift evolution of big data, user-created content, and AI, this study aims to gather textual narration of a blogger’s brief tourist video on the Bilibili. This is achieved through network data mining and integrating it with conventional social sciences to conduct qualitative analysis of the video’s narration, like manual coding, thereby aiding in supporting future research findings.

This study conducted an in-depth narrative analysis of short tourism video content by a well-known and representative domestic travel video blogger on the Bilibili platform, offering preliminary insights into the narrative structures and communication strategies of tourism short videos within a specific context. While we have strived for rigor, several inherent limitations in the research design and methodology must be acknowledged. These limitations, however, also point to valuable avenues for future research.

First, regarding the research scope, this study employs a single-case, in-depth analysis focused on one platform. While this design facilitates a detailed exploration of narrative texture, it consequently limits the generalizability of the findings. The unique algorithmic logic, user ecosystem, and content format of the Bilibili platform may shape distinct narrative conventions, meaning the insights identified here may not be directly transferable to other platforms (e.g., YouTube, Instagram Reels). Similarly, the personal style and success trajectory of the selected blogger may not represent the broader spectrum of travel content creators. Future research could undertake cross-platform comparative analyses to explore differences in narrative strategies for the same creator or similar content across different platforms. Alternatively, multi-case comparative studies could be conducted, incorporating creators with varying follower counts and content styles (e.g., luxury travel, backpacking, cultural immersion) to test and enrich the narrative patterns identified in this study.

Second, the content analysis in this study possesses significant cultural and linguistic specificity. The narrative appeal identified relies heavily on the use of local dialects, references to indigenous cultural symbols, and shared memories within specific communities. While this deep contextual embeddedness is a source of this study’s value, it also means its explanatory power may be primarily confined to audiences familiar with this cultural context. For international or culturally unfamiliar viewers, the efficacy of certain narrative strategies might diminish or be interpreted differently. Therefore, a highly promising future direction involves cross-cultural audience reception studies. By exposing audiences from different cultural backgrounds to the same or similar content, researchers could investigate differences in narrative reception, comprehension, and emotional response, thereby deepening the understanding of the mechanisms of cross-cultural tourism narrative communication.

Third, and a key methodological limitation, is that this study focuses solely on the content itself without directly incorporating audience data. We analyzed the narrative strategies “encoded” within the videos and inferred their “potential” communication and persuasive effects (e.g., enhancing immersion, boosting destination appeal) based on theoretical frameworks. However, these inferences have not been empirically verified from the audience’s perspective. The relationship between content features and communication effects is not one of simple causation. To establish this connection more robustly, future research should adopt mixed-methods approaches: complementing content analysis with surveys to measure viewers’ levels of narrative transportation, attitude change, and behavioral intentions post-viewing; or employing experimental designs to manipulate different narrative elements (e.g., presence of dialect, use of first-person perspective) to test their causal impact on outcome variables. Furthermore, technologies such as eye-tracking could be utilized to explore viewers’ visual attention allocation when engaging with complex multimodal narratives.

Finally, while the qualitative analysis process followed a systematic coding procedure, it inevitably involves an element of personal interpretation. Although we enhanced reliability through repeated viewings, multiple coding iterations, and team discussions, the interpretation of narrative themes, emotional tones, and cultural symbols may still be influenced by the researchers’ own perspectives. To increase the objectivity and transparency of the analytical process, future qualitative research could: (1) implement formal inter-coder reliability checks; (2) utilize qualitative data analysis software (e.g., NVivo) to aid in management and analysis, providing a more detailed account of the data reduction process from raw data to core categories; and (3) where feasible, employ member-checking techniques by presenting preliminary findings to the content creator or knowledgeable audience members to validate the interpretative plausibility.