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The purpose of this study is twofold. The first objective is to identify the factors that affect Gen Z tourists' M-payment behaviour. Next, this study investigates the inter-relationship between Gen Z tourist’s perception of M-payment benefits, adoption behaviour, usage risk and future usage intention.

The sample comprised Malaysian Gen Z individuals (n = 326) who had experience using M-payment methods while travelling outbound. Given the complex nature of the model and the goal to predict and explain relationships within Gen Z's M-payment usage, partial-least square-structural equation modelling was used to assess the study framework and test the proposed relationships.

This study reveals significant influences on Gen Z tourists' behavioural intentions towards M-payment usage. Perceived benefits, performance expectancy, social influence and perceived trust positively impact behavioural intentions, while effort expectancy exhibits no significant effect. Furthermore, perceived trust is strongly influenced by perceived security, which also positively influences behavioural intentions. A mediated relationship is evident as trust mediating the effect of perceived security on behavioural intentions.

This study’s findings contribute to understanding the intricate relationships influencing Gen Z's M-payment behaviour and underscore trust's pivotal role in mediating the security–behavioural intention relationship.

This study is among the first to consider Mental Accounting Theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology as crucial underpinning theories in comprehending the intricate relationships that influence Gen Z travellers' perceptions and behaviours concerning M-payment systems.

This study utilised Mehrabian and Russel's stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model to investigate the inter-relationship between perceived social media information qualities (IQ) of online UGC, destination image, perceived travel risk and behavioural intentions.

A total of 255 responses from international tourists were collected. The data collection via an online survey was performed from October 2020 to February 2021. The study model and hypotheses were examined using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The result indicated that social media intrinsic, representational, and social IQ significantly influenced tourists perceived cognitive image, while only contextual and social IQ significantly predicted the perceived affective image. This study also confirms the significant effect of cognitive image on the affective image. In addition, the authors found that both destination image components, cognitive and affective, significantly affect tourists' behavioural intentions. However, surprisingly, tourists' perceived travel risk did not moderate the effect of destination image components on behavioural intentions.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge by extending Mehrabian and Russel's SOR model in the tourism behaviour context.

From a practical perspective, this study proves that UGC significantly affects destination image and plays an integral part in luring tourists to visit a destination.

Previous research in this area is limited, making this study particularly novel. This study represents one of the initial attempts to evaluate the dimensions of information quality in UGC on social media and online review platforms, particularly within the field of tourism. Treating online travel UGC seriously could assist organisations in leveraging tourist behaviour and enhancing destination image.