Humor or Fear: Which Tourism Warning Message Appeals are More Persuasive
通过三个情景实验，比较幽默和恐惧两种警示信息对游客安全遵从行为的影响，发现幽默诉求略胜一筹，且思维方式和目的地类型起调节作用，为旅游管理组织设计警示信息提供参考。
The role of humor-based and fear-based warning message appeals in tourism safety communication remains unclear. Drawing on three scenario-based experiments, this study investigates the mechanisms through which different types of warning message appeals influence tourists’ safety compliance. The results indicate that humor appeals exert a slightly stronger persuasive effect than fear appeals. Moreover, both rational and experiential thinking styles mediate the relationship between message appeal type and safety compliance. In addition, destination type (hedonic vs. utilitarian) moderates the effectiveness of warning message appeals. This study is the first to reveal the role of humor and fear appeals in tourism safety communication. It offers new perspectives for research on tourism warning messages and extends the application of cognitive-experiential self-theory in this field. Moreover, the findings provide practical guidance for destination management organizations in designing more persuasive and targeted warning messages to enhance tourists’ safety-related behavior.