Text Overlays Versus Scenic Background in Tourism Advertising: An Eye-Tracking Neuromarketing Analysis

Abstract

The study examines how centrally placed textual overlays in tourism video advertising influence perception of scenic spots, focusing on how captions redirect visual attention away from background scenery that should convey destination image and emotional appeal. Eye-tracking data from 20 university students were collected while they viewed a 30-second tourism video with centrally positioned captions. Areas of interest were defined for text and scenic background, and dwell time, time to first fixation, mean fixation duration and saccade parameters were compared between text and scenery using paired inferential analyses. Text areas of interest attracted substantially longer dwell times and earlier fixations than scenic background, with cumulative differences exceeding 10 seconds of viewing time. Mean fixation duration did not differ between areas, indicating that text dominance reflects attentional allocation rather than processing depth, while saccade measures showed only small effects consistent with stable oculomotor control. The findings provide initial support for a text-overshadowing interpretation by suggesting that centrally placed captions can dominate visual attention and reduce engagement with scenic imagery under the tested conditions. The study contributes to theory by distinguishing between attentional allocation and fixation processing and offers practical guidance by recommending delayed or repositioned captions to preserve the emotional and experiential value of scenic destination imagery.