When a destination is imagined: the persuasive effects of metaphorical slogans on Chinese college students’ travel intention

Metaphorical slogans have always been prevalent in tourism marketing, yet research on its persuasiveness is still in its infancy. This study aims to investigate the effects of metaphorical slogans on Chinese college students' travel intention and how this relationship will be affected by destination familiarity and imagery processing. Results reveal that metaphorical slogans can effectively enhance travel intention compared with their literal counterparts. When moderated by destination familiarity, however, metaphorical slogans are more persuasive in promoting unknown (versus known) destinations. Meanwhile, imagery processing is found to mediate the interaction effect of metaphor use and destination familiarity on travel intention.