Proposing a research model on tourism destination mascots

Cute mascots endowed with local cultural meanings can reignite the positive sentiment of both residents and potential tourists towards a tourism destination. However, the marketing importance of tourism mascots has not been fully recognized in past research. This study adopted the theory of stereotyping and the stimulus-organism-response theory to suggest a research framework to support the use of cartoon characters as a tourism mascot for a tourism destination. The results show that the tourism mascot framework could be fully validated among both out-group (potential tourists) and in-group (residents) stereotyping perspectives. Cultural meaning and cuteness in a cartoon character were found to influence both residents’ and potential tourists’ perceptions of competence and warmth. Both warmth and competence then stimulate residents’ and potential tourists’ support to use the tourism mascot in the destination. The analysis method of partial least square structural equation modeling was suggested to use. Finally, the theoretical implications of tourism mascots in destination promotion were discussed. Obviously, this research framework still needs to be tested by empirical studies for practical meaning.