Humor or Fear: Which Tourism Warning Message Appeals are More Persuasive

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.