Kan Liu Zening Lv ^* Hongrui Zhou

• Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, China

With the advent of the aging era, the older people population has become a significant force in revitalizing the tourism market. Currently, both the internal characteristics of the older people and the consumer environment they are in have undergone significant changes, primarily reflected in the enhancement of their personal social capital and consumption upgrading. These changes may influence the travel behavior of the older people, but the specific mechanisms of this influence have yet to be thoroughly explored. Based on social capital theory and social influence theory, this paper constructs a moderated mediation model and employs a questionnaire survey method to conduct an empirical test on 502 older people. The empirical results show that: the personal social capital of the older people (including structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions) has a positive effect on their travel behavior; consumption upgrading among the older people partially mediates the relationship between their personal social capital and travel behavior; internet involvement moderates the impact of consumption upgrading on the travel behavior of the older people; and internet involvement moderates the relationship between the personal social capital of the older people and their travel behavior, with consumption upgrading as a mediator. The research conclusions not only deepen the understanding of the mediating mechanisms through which the personal social capital of the older people influences their travel behavior, but also enrich the scope of the effectiveness of internet involvement, providing new perspectives and interpretations for promoting senior tourism.