Is the tour leader an effective endorser for group package tour brochures?

In many Asian countries and areas, such as Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and China, etc., group package tour is one of the main modes of outbound travel. Several studies have highlighted the important role played by tour leaders in group package tours; they are considered to be indispensable by the tourists themselves and their presentation can make or break a tour. Previous studies have mainly used celebrities, experts, CEOs, and consumers as endorsers for advertising. However, few empirical studies have examined how the advertising effectiveness would be changed if tour leader is used as endorsers for group package tour brochures. This study adopts an epistemological perspective towards extending the limited research on the impact of tour leaders used in advertising as endorsers. A rigorous experimental design was employed; nine experimental groups were included, in total, 844 student subjects participated in the study. The results showed that tour leaders as endorsers for group package tour brochures had a more positive advertising effectiveness than the traditional brochure design and CEO as an endorser elicited higher purchase intention than tour leader as endorser. Implications for managers and scholars are discussed and suggestions for the direction of future study and practice are also provided.