Tourism short video ads are crucial for enhancing destination market competitiveness and sustainable development. However, there are still limitations on how ads should be designed differently for the characteristics of different destinations. To fill this research gap, based on the elaboration likelihood model, this study uses four scenario experiments to examine the matching effects between short tourism video ad formats (rough loop vs. detailed single-play) and destination brand personality (young vs. traditional). The findings reveal that young destinations matched with a rough loop ad format and traditional destinations matched with a detailed single-play ad format are more capable of triggering tourists’ travel desire. Moreover, sensory experience and flow experience play mediating roles in the above relationship. This paper expands the content framework of tourism advertising and marketing research and provides practical implications for designing short video ads in tourist destinations.
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