Peaks and troughs: Are heart rate cues more attractive to tourists?

Efficiently identifying the attractive marketing cues remains a persistent challenge for destination marketers. To address this issue, this research proposes a cue identification procedure that integrates an objective identifying instrument (heart rate) and a close-looped identifying logic. This logic is designed to establish both sufficient and necessary conditions for reliable detection of marketing cues. Specifically, Study 1a (initially screening cues in field setting) and Study 1b (refined in laboratory setting) jointly screened 12 marketing cues based on the necessary condition between cues’ attractiveness and heart rate responses. Study 2a (a questionnaire survey) and Study 2b (a marketing practice in Tik Tok) verified the attractiveness of these cues, finding that those identified through heart rate responses were more attractive both in-sample and out-of-sample. This step establishes sufficient evidence. This study contributes theoretical and methodological insights to tackle the issue of efficiently identifying attractive marketing cues and its implications for destination marketing.