Optimal preannouncement timing for launching new tourism attractions

Abstract

Research on new tourism destinations’ preannouncement timing is lacking in the tourism literature. Across four studies (including two preregistered studies) that drew samples from the United States and China, using both qualitative and quantitative methods with multiple answer-elicitation techniques, the authors address an important question: What is the optimal preannouncement timing for to-be-launched tourism destinations? Contrary to the prediction of the economic theory of discounted utility, the authors find that prospective tourists consistently prefer a time interval between preannouncement and official launch over immediate availability in joint evaluations. Additionally, the authors found a resurgence of interest after an initial decline in the first week in separate evaluations, whereas this pattern does not occur in joint evaluations. Practically, the authors suggest a “sweet spot” for the preannouncement between one week and two months before the official launch; theoretically, the current research contributes to the emerging tourism literature on temporal distance and its consequences in tourism.