The Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA) recently conducted its 2023 Academic Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Among the research contributions presented, the study titled "Visual Attention Attraction and Tourism Review Helpfulness: A Novel Enhancement Mechanism with Profile Pictures" authored by Professor Li Hui, Master student Li Chunlin, Associate Professor Liang Sai, and external co-authors, and published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research (APJTR), has been honored with the Annual Best Paper Award by the APTA International Society and Routledge International Publishing House.
APTA is an internationally renowned society in the tourism and hotel industry. The association holds an annual academic conference with the aim of promoting high-quality research in the tourism and hospitality industry, particularly in the Asia Pacific region or specifically for the Asia Pacific region, to share research findings and facilitate intellectual exchange between academia and the business community. The Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research is the journal of the association, aimed at promoting excellent research and development in the tourism and hospitality industry. The journal published a total of 75 papers in 2022, among which the research results of Professor Li Hui's team were selected as the best paper of 2022 (the only one). Master's student Li Chunlin went to the venue to receive the award and delivered his acceptance speech.
This study delves into the influence of tourists' personal portrait images on the utility of online comments regarding tourism on digital platforms, specifically examining the aspect of visual attention attraction. Firstly, it introduces two pivotal mechanisms affecting visual attention within the realm of online travel reviews, enhancing the application of selective contact and visual selective attention theories. Secondly, it explores a novel factor impacting the efficacy of online travel reviews—the inclusion of tourist profile pictures. Thirdly, it sheds light on the diverse effects of various avatars. The study's findings offer a fresh approach to optimize user quality and information recommendation mechanisms on digital platforms dedicated to tourism.
In recent years, our college has persistently refined the academic research environment, enhanced graduate training methodologies, fostered a more robust academic research culture, facilitated collaborations in academic research, and elevated the caliber of research output. We are dedicated to revitalizing the discipline of tourism and leisure management, amassing potent academic prowess to sustainably propel the tourism discipline over the next five to ten years, achieving tangible milestones along the way. Notably, driven by national strategic imperatives, we have integrated thinking related to tourism big data research, continuously probing emergent challenges and configurations in the realm of digital tourism economy development. Our team's attainment of this international award corroborates the global competitiveness of our high-caliber research accomplishments and steadily amplifies our international standing.
（Translator: ZHUANG Jing, Proofreader: BI Jianwu）
