Revitalizing Papua’s Economy Through Digital Tourism: A Strategic Approach to Enhancing Visitor Engagement

Abstract

Tourism digitalization has become an important strategic tool for enhancing destination competitiveness, particularly for emerging destinations such as West Papua that face visibility and accessibility challenges. Despite its rich tourism potential, the region continues to experience limited promotion and suboptimal use of digital technologies. This study examines how perceived authenticity, perceived destination accessibility, and destination image shape tourists’ attitudes toward the destination, and how these attitudes influence intention to visit, with digital branding (social media and VR-based content) considered as a moderating factor. Data were collected from 122 followers of official Papua tourism Instagram accounts and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results show that perceived authenticity and destination image have significant positive effects on attitude toward destination, while perceived destination accessibility does not show a significant effect. Furthermore, attitude toward destination does not directly influence intention to visit, indicating an evaluation action gap in tourists’ decision processes. However, digital branding significantly moderates the relationship between attitude and intention to visit, strengthening the conversion of positive attitudes into travel intentions. These findings indicate that digital branding functions as an enabling mechanism rather than merely a promotional tool. The study focuses on emerging destinations and practical insights.