Is the more like a real person the better? The effect of virtual endorsers type on tourists’ travel inspiration

Hiring tourism endorsers has gradually become a crucial strategy for destination marketing. However, existing studies have paid insufficient attention to the differentiated effects of various types of tourism virtual endorsers. Based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and the cognitive-affective-conative (CAC) model, our study investigates the effects of different types of virtual endorsers (mimic-human vs. animated-human) on tourists' travel inspiration through three scenario-based experiments. The findings reveal that animated-human virtual endorsers exert a stronger positive influence on tourists' travel inspiration compared to mimic-human virtual endorsers. This effect is sequentially mediated by perceived cuteness and awakening of interest. Furthermore, advertising cognitive load moderates the impact of virtual endorsers on tourists' travel inspiration. This study uncovers the mechanism through which animated-human virtual endorsers influence tourists' travel inspiration, clarifies the internal generation mechanism of travel inspiration and offers practical implications for selecting appropriate virtual endorsers to effectively stimulate tourists' travel inspiration.