Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Sukjoon (SJ) Yoon is a third-year doctoral student in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Sciences (RPTS) at Texas A&M University. His research fields of concentration are sport tourism, tourism marketing, and event management. He is more interested in understanding sport tourists’ behavior with a focus on involvement, attachment, and loyalty.

Eun Yeon Kang is a doctoral candidate in the Stan Richards School of Advertising & PR at the University of Texas at Austin. She mainly studies about consumer responses to corporate social responsibility focused on pro-environmental practices in the service industry and its communication strategies.

Jim Petrick is a Full Professor, Research Fellow and the Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies in the Department of RPTS at Texas A&M University. His research interest focuses on applying marketing and psychology principles in the context of tourism services.

Abstract (150 Words)

This study employs a conversion technique to examine the effects of destination website advertising on tourists’ actual visit, revisit intentions, and financial returns between two groups (paid vs. organic). Based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion, findings indicate that paid search consumers who were with a high level of involvement in website advertising had higher conversion rates than organic search consumers. Although prior research has shown the importance of involvement as a determinant of advertising effectiveness, the current study concludes that website advertising involvement is not only a critical variable for evaluating advertising effectiveness, but also an essential element affecting the tourists’ decision making related to the destination.

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Destination Website Advertising Effectiveness: A Comparison Between Paid and Organic Search

This study employs a conversion technique to examine the effects of destination website advertising on tourists’ actual visit, revisit intentions, and financial returns between two groups (paid vs. organic). Based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion, findings indicate that paid search consumers who were with a high level of involvement in website advertising had higher conversion rates than organic search consumers. Although prior research has shown the importance of involvement as a determinant of advertising effectiveness, the current study concludes that website advertising involvement is not only a critical variable for evaluating advertising effectiveness, but also an essential element affecting the tourists’ decision making related to the destination.