Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Dr. Ye Shen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Experience Industry Management at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She completed her Ph.D. in Management at the University of Guelph in Canada and received her master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at Peking University. Her research focuses on tourism experience design, experiential marketing, and technology applications in tourism and hospitality.

Dr. Sunghwan Yi is associate professor in the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies at the University of Guelph, Canada. Trained in consumer behaviour and psychology, he is interested in subtle behavioural change strategies for consumer well-being. In the realm of tourism, Dr. Yi is interested in how tourists' expectation and experience of flow as well as authentic experience in destinations may drive their choice of creative activities while traveling.

Dr. Marion Joppe is a Professor in the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, University of Guelph, Canada. She specializes in destination planning, development, and marketing. She has extensive private and public sector experience.

Dr. Hwansuk Chris Choi is professor and acting director in the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at University of Guelph, Canada and has had more than 25 years of research and consulting experiences in policy, marketing, development planning and consumer behaviour in tourism and the related fields.

Abstract (150 Words)

Destination management organizations (DMOs) have used different formats of travel information to create a positive destination image and attract potential tourists. Text-based travel information is the most common format while question-based and gamified versions have become popular in the recent 10 years. Integrating questions or applying gamification is believed to enhance people’s flow experience and result in positive outcomes. However, no known research has empirically investigated the different effects of text-based, question-based, and gamified information in the tourism context. Through an experimental design, this research found that gamified information compared to text-based or question-based significantly enhances people’s flow experience and in turn increases their destination image change, willingness to search for more information, and visit intention. The findings give insights into the effects of different formats of information presentation and have implications for how DMOs could use gamified information to promote destinations and attract potential tourists.

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Why Is Gamified Travel Information More Effective? An Experimental Investigation

Destination management organizations (DMOs) have used different formats of travel information to create a positive destination image and attract potential tourists. Text-based travel information is the most common format while question-based and gamified versions have become popular in the recent 10 years. Integrating questions or applying gamification is believed to enhance people’s flow experience and result in positive outcomes. However, no known research has empirically investigated the different effects of text-based, question-based, and gamified information in the tourism context. Through an experimental design, this research found that gamified information compared to text-based or question-based significantly enhances people’s flow experience and in turn increases their destination image change, willingness to search for more information, and visit intention. The findings give insights into the effects of different formats of information presentation and have implications for how DMOs could use gamified information to promote destinations and attract potential tourists.