Annika Aebli
Institute for Tourism and Leisure
University of Applied Sciences Chur, Switzerland

ARE USER-GENERATED PHOTOS ABLE TO ATTRACT MORE ATTENTION?

Some destination marketing organisations (DMO) apply user-generated photos (UGP) instead of common commercial photos (CP) in different scopes of online marketing. Research has not investigated differences in elaboration and impact between UGP and CP so far. Due to previous research, the authors propose that individuals’ involvement due to motivation to process UGP and due to attention is higher compared to CP. To address this topic, a research hypothesis is developed assuming that UGP enhance attention due to higher involvement compared to CP. A theoretical explanation is given why UGP entail higher attention compared to CP. An outlook on a field study that should be conducted is presented. Finally, expected research findings and managerial implications are discussed.

Keywords: User-Generated Photos; Commercial Photos; Destination Marketing; Online Marketing Effectiveness; Attention.

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