Emotional and cognitive mechanisms of eco-social receptivity: Exploring tourism brand e-vocacy in AI-enabled travel

Tourism accounts for roughly 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and is projected to increase substantially by 2030 without decisive action. In response, this study investigates how travelers' eco-social receptivity on social media can transform them into climate advocates (termed tourism brand e-vocacy). We address a critical knowledge gap by examining the emotional and cognitive mechanisms linking receptivity to e-vocacy, and the conditions under which these processes are strengthened. A multi-city survey (n = 427) of leisure travelers in five major Chinese tourism hubs was conducted to test a stimulus-organism-response model. Results reveal that eco-social receptivity drives tourism brand e-vocacy predominantly through a "warm-glow" emotional route (tourist green happiness) and secondarily via a cognitive route (eco-brand trust). Next-generation smart travel intelligence usage significantly amplifies both the affective and cognitive mediation pathways, whereas high perceived authenticity of social-action advertising intensifies only the affective path. Notably, the moderated mediation via eco-brand trust was non-significant. By extending the S-O-R framework into an AI-augmented, socially conscious tourism context, this research offers novel insights for sustainable travel marketing. The findings suggest that emotionally resonant, credible eco-initiatives on social platforms can convert receptive tourists into proactive online advocates, supporting global climate-action goals.