DIGITAL VS. VERBAL STORYTELLING IN TOURISM MARKETING: EFFECTS ON EMOTIONAL AROUSAL AND DESTINATION CHOICE INTENTION

Abstract

Storytelling has become an important communication strategy in tourism marketing. Destinations often use narratives to attract potential tourists and create emotional engagement with places. However, the influence of different storytelling formats on tourist responses is still not fully understood. This study examines the effect of storytelling format (digital vs. verbal) on tourists’ emotional arousal and destination choice intention. An experimental research design was employed in which participants were exposed to either digital storytelling or verbal storytelling related to a tourism destination. Data were collected from 768 participants and analyzed using independent samples t-tests. The results showed that storytelling format did not significantly influence destination choice intention. However, a significant difference was found in emotional arousal between the two storytelling formats. These findings suggest that storytelling format plays an important role in generating emotional engagement among potential tourists, but it may not directly influence their travel decisions. The study contributes to tourism marketing literature by providing empirical evidence on the comparative effects of storytelling formats. The findings also highlight the importance of emotional engagement in tourism communication strategies.