Celebrity endorsement effectiveness for print destination advertising

The aim of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the effects of celebrity endorsement on the attitude and visitation intentions of tourists. Ohanian's (1991) model is applied and modified to examine the effects of celebrity endorsement in print destination advertisements in the context of Mainland Chinese tourists visiting Hong Kong. The model is modified by introducing a continuous moderator 'Matchup' and two mediators, Attitude towards the Advertisement and Attitude towards the Destination. The key research constructs within the framework and effects are Attractiveness, Trustworthiness and Expertise. Combined, these constructs influence Attitude towards the Advertisement and Attitude towards the Destination, which then impacts on Visitation Intentions. The main survey (n=1044) was conducted in Guangzhou. Structural equation modeling is the main statistical technique for testing and estimating the relationships. The revised measurement model and structural model were found to fit the data satisfactorily. The path coefficients and their statistical significance in the revised structural model indicated that all hypotheses were supported, apart from one. This study found that tourist's attitude towards the advertisement and the destination were predictors of visitation intentions, and at the same time played a mediating role between the celebrity endorsement dimensions and visitation intentions. 'Matchup' reported significant moderation effects on the relationship between perceived expertise and attitude towards a destination.;The squared multiple correlations indicate that the revised structural model has a strong statistical ability to predict Mainland Chinese respondents' Attitude towards the Advertisement (47%) and Attitude towards Hong Kong (26%) and to a lesser extent their Visitation Intentions (9%). By comparing the latent mean differences, it was found that the experimental groups significantly score better on both attitude dimensions. Consequently, the proposed inclusion of the mediator and moderator changes the current thinking regarding the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer evaluations. By assessing the value of celebrity endorser assets and their effectiveness, this study may help to inform destination marketers who may independently use the model or at least in part, to form, explain and perhaps justify promotional activities.