Advertising can make or break a destination’s reputation. A well-designed advertising campaign that captures travellers’ imagination can transform an overlooked location into a tourism hotspot. Conversely, a poorly executed ad can discourage visitors and damage a destination’s image for good. Thanks to Professor Mimi Li of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and co-authors, we now know more about one of the most important metrics of advertising effectiveness: emotions. Using cutting-edge electroencephalogram technology, they reveal how children’s emotional responses to tourism ads fluctuate in real time. Their findings will help destination marketers to design more effective and emotionally resonant advertisements.
