The memory effect of destination dialect advertising

Tourism is fundamentally a consumption of places, making place elements essential in destination marketing. This research investigates the emerging practice of using dialect elements in destination advertising through the theoretical lens of symbolic interactionism, focusing on advertising memory as a key measure of advertising effectiveness. Five main studies (and three supplemental studies) across Eastern and Western cultures demonstrate a robust memory effect of destination advertising with dialect elements. Specifically, such advertising enhances perceived placeness compared to counterparts using the corresponding standard language, thereby resulting in superior memory effectiveness. Furthermore, these effects are attenuated for destinations low in cultural symbolism. These findings advance current knowledge on destination dialect marketing while offering practical guidance to design memorable destination advertising.