Echoes of the familiar: How mental imagery and destination awareness affect attraction dupes?

This research examines how visual similarity between Domestic Dupe Attractions (DDAs) and Famous Foreign Attractions (FFAs) shapes tourists’ mental imagery and travel intentions. Across three experiments, results demonstrate that higher DDA–FFA visual similarity enhances mental imagery and increases tourists’ intentions to visit DDAs. Mental imagery mediates this relationship, revealing how visual cues influence expectancy formation and motivational engagement. Moreover, FFA brand awareness negatively moderates these effects: when awareness is low, visual similarity exerts a stronger positive impact on both mental imagery and travel intention. Drawing on expectancy–value and cognitive dissonance theories, this study integrates visual similarity, mental imagery, and brand awareness perspectives to explain tourists’ responses to dupe attractions. The findings advance theoretical understanding of visual persuasion in tourism marketing and offer practical insights for promoting lesser-known destinations through sustainable, visually driven communication strategies.