How Ecotourism Website Design Drives Booking Intentions: Evidence from Eye-Tracking

Baran Bayar, S, Skandali, D, Yfantidou, I ORCID: 0000-0003-3200-2185 and Cobanoglu, C How Ecotourism Website Design Drives Booking Intentions: Evidence from Eye-Tracking. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Horizons. ISSN 3049-7914 (Accepted)

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Abstract

Purpose – Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Dual-Process Theory, this study investigates how design elements of ecotourism websites influence visual attention and booking intentions, offering evidence based guidelines for small and medium-sized
enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach– A sequential mixed-methods design combined eye-tracking. (n = 62), an online survey (n = 196) and follow-up interviews (n = 18). Participants interacted with a purpose-built beta website featuring six ecotourism categories before completing attitudinal measures.

Findings – Textual information attracted 62% of total fixation time, yet food related images drew 2.3× longer initial fixations than generic landscape photos. Congruent central (detailed sustainability text) and peripheral (official ecolabels) cues yielded the strongest booking intentions, especially when site branding included destination names. Ambiguous
labels such as National Parks reduced engagement by 28%.

Practical implications – SMEs should adopt a layered content strategy that pairs concise, trust building text with high impact visuals, integrate destination branding, and replace technical jargon with benefit oriented language. Automated booking widgets and transparent pricing further increase clickthrough rates.

Originality/value – This study triangulates eye-tracking with the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Dual-Process Theory (DPT) to explain how ecotourism website design influences user attention and booking intentions.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	JK - Great just add journal details. AT 08/04 JK Check RR https://trello.com/c/vc0ObjMJ/2920-how-ecotourism-website-design-drives-booking-intentions-evidence-from-eye-tracking
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Computer software G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) > G149 Travel. Voyages and travels (General) > G154.9 Travel and state. Tourism G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) > G149 Travel. Voyages and travels (General)
Divisions:	Liverpool Business School
Date of acceptance:	7 April 2026
Date Deposited:	09 Apr 2026 11:05
Last Modified:	09 Apr 2026 11:05
DOI or ID number:	10.1108/JHTH-12-2025-0168
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28346

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