How should cities communicate? The interaction effect of city stereotypes and advertising language on travel intention

Cities are facing increasingly fierce competition in today's tourism market. Although cities can boost prospective visitors' travel intentions by adopting effective advertising strategies, researchers have rarely analyzed whether the linguistic style used in advertising can enhance individuals' willingness to travel. Could a simple shift in the language of tourism communication enhance customers' travel intentions? In this paper, cities were divided based on the stereotype content model. The potential interaction effects of city stereotypes and advertising language on travel intention were examined. A series of experimental studies provided intriguing results: a “competent” city portrayed in abstract language increased individuals' travel intentions, as did a “warm” city described in concrete language. Schema congruence was identified as the psychological mechanism driving city–language variations. These findings offer guidance o*n how cities should use language to communicate with potential markets as well as how cities can mold prospective travelers' visit intentions by improving these locations' tourism competitiveness. Results further unveil a novel mechanism by which an effective language–city match can enhance tourists' travel intentions.