Authentication Response to a Tourist Attraction Video: Neuromarketing Insights

Using physiological and self-reported measures, the study examined the role that the emotions and authenticity orientation of tourists play in the authentication of tourist attractions promoted by marketing materials. Seventy-two respondents whose attitudes toward authenticity were classified as realists, constructivists, and postmodernists watched a video about the Hobbiton Movie Set, a staged attraction in Rotorua, New Zealand. Heartbeat data was converted into three measures of heart rate variability: time-domain, frequency-domain, and qualitative non-linear measure. Heart rate variability differed among authenticity groups. People with realist attitudes stayed more focused and had lower HRV. Postmodernists were the most likely to accept the staged attraction as authentic and their kind of place to visit. Promotional materials generating positive arousal contributed to positive authentication.