From wildlife to wanderlust: celebrity animals as travel motivators
通过四个实验发现，旅游目的地的明星动物（相比普通动物）能提升游客的旅行意愿，这种效应由生态魅力和审美魅力中介，且受游客感知文化距离的调节。
More and more tourism destinations are using celebrity animals for marketing purpose. However, the literature has documented little evidence regarding the effect of such approach. This study addresses this gap by examining the effect of celebrity animals of tourism destinations on tourists’ travel intentions. We conducted four experiments to examine the relationships. The results indicate that (1) the celebrity animal (vs. ordinary animal) increases tourists’ travel intentions, (2) ecological charisma and aesthetic charisma mediate such effect, and (3) tourists’ perceived cultural distance further moderate these mediated effects, by influencing tourists’ perceptions of celebrity animals’ non-human charisma. The findings provide researchers and managers novel insights into the use of celebrity animals in tourism and destination marketing strategies.