Visual Attention and Factual Recall in Tourism Promotional Materials: An Eye-Tracking Study of Mascot–Text Composite Designs Under Natural Viewing

This study examined how different forms of tourism promotional materials are associated with visual attention and factual recall under natural viewing conditions. A total of 87 participants completed eye-tracking and memory-test tasks using text-only, image-only, and mascot–text composite promotional materials across three destination contexts: Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Beijing. Visual attention was assessed using fixation duration and fixation count, and memory performance was assessed using post-viewing multiple-choice responses. In the revised analysis, attention measures were aggregated at the participant–stimulus level, and memory accuracy was analyzed using participant-item-level binary response data. The results indicated that mascot–text composite materials were associated with significantly longer total fixation duration, whereas material-type differences in total fixation count were not significant. Memory analysis indicated that text-containing materials were associated with higher factual recall accuracy than image-only materials, while text-only and mascot–text composite materials showed comparable recall performance. Rather than supporting a fixed mascot-first processing route, the study provides exploratory evidence for flexible attention allocation and attention–memory coordination in tourism promotional communication.