Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of different leadership styles, transformational, transactional and authentic leadership, on travel agents’ innovational behavior, with organizational culture as a mediator. Design/methodology/approach The study aim was achieved by using an integrative model using LISREL 8.80. Quantitative research was used using a questionnaire. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to travel agents, out of which 415 were returned, and 376 usable ones were statistically handled (75.2% response rate). Findings Transformational leadership has a significant impact on organizational culture (ß = 0.34) and innovational behavior (ß = 0.46). Authentic leadership has a significant impact on both organizational culture (ß = 0.38) and innovational behavior (ß = 0.52). Transactional leadership significantly impacts organizational culture (ß = 0.38); however, it has no significant impact on innovational behavior (ß = 0.31). The positive influence of leadership styles on innovative behavior is mediated by innovative organizational culture (ß = 0.92). Research limitations/implications Further research should explore the relationship between other leadership styles and innovation. Additionally, investigates the relationship between organizational culture factors and innovation. This study targeted category “A” travel agencies. Therefore, to generalize the study findings, the study should be replicated with other categories of travel agencies. Practical implications Travel agencies organizations should invest in managers who adopt authentic and transformational leadership, whereas transactional leaders are urged to be open to new ideas, invest in the knowledge and skills of their employees, encourage friendly communication with their employees and ensure that there are reasonable punishment and reward systems within the organization. Originality/value This study presents new insights into tourism field by integrating the study variables (organizational culture, innovative behavior and leadership style), into one framework, particularly in developing countries’ contexts.

Literature has revealed that user-generated content (UGC) and social media travel influencers (SMIs) are among the main factors influencing tourists of Generation Z's (born 1997-2012) intention to visit a destination. Unfortunately, there is a large proportion of unreliable and fake content due to the low publishing barriers on social media platforms. However, limited research has been conducted to investigate how the credibility of travel influencers and user-generated content posted on social media platforms impact the visit intention of Gen Z in developing countries. To fill this literature gap, An empirical study was conducted to investigate the impact of user-generated content and social media travel influencers' credibility on Gen Z's visit intention to the Egyptian tourism destination. For this purpose, an online questionnaire was distributed among youth from Generation Z. Results indicated that both user-generated content and influencers' credibility dimensions have a significant impact on Gen Z visit intention. However, Egyptian Gen Z considers UGC more credible than SMIs when they intend to travel.The study recommends that tourism managers should partner with experienced, highly trusted influencers who deliver attractive content to their followers. As well as making use of the positive reviews of consumers by encouraging them to post their actual experiences on different platforms, managers also need to respond professionally to negative or fake reviews.