Visual appeal of hotel websites : an exploratory eye tracking study on Chinese generation Y

With increasing recognition of experience as the essence of tourism, studying visual appeal of web design and striking a balance between usability and aesthetic considerations have elicited considerable attention from tourism and hospitality researchers. In this study, we attempt to explore visual appeal of hotel websites to Chinese Generation Y. Based on prior research, two preeminent web characteristics (i.e., a large main picture and little text) of hotel websites are identified that may be particularly preferable to Chinese Generation Y. A survey and an eye-tracking experiment are triangulated to validate the findings. Results show that web pages of hotel websites with large main pictures and little text are indeed visually appealing to Chinese Generation Y. The visual responses of participants captured by an unobtrusive eye-tracker further support our findings.