UTM graduate Killian Tan won the ‘Best Paper Award (1st Runner-up)’ at the APacCHRIE 2024 Youth Conference for his research on travel advertisements on the TikTok social media platform. His study highlighted differences in audience responses to general promotional content versus culture-focused content in tourism video advertisements

Killian Tan Jialong, a recent UTM graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Tourism Business Management programme, has won the ‘Best Paper Award (1st Runner-up)’ at the APacCHRIE 2024 Youth Conference. His research focused on the effectiveness of travel advertisements on the video-sharing platform TikTok. It revealed differences in audience responses to general promotional content versus tourism advertisements with a focus on elements such as local cultural heritage, food, and people, which he referred to as “humanistic” content.

Killian’s paper, titled “Do short travel video ads really work for audiences? Evidence from TikTok”, was presented at the APacCHRIE 2024 Youth Conference, hosted by Yonsei University in Seoul, in the Republic of Korea, in late May. The event took place concurrently with the annual APacCHRIE Conference, a key gathering in the Asia-Pacific region’s academic calendar, attracting scholars and students from across the globe to share innovative research and industry insights.

Killian says the award is a perfect conclusion to his undergraduate studies, adding he is “incredibly honoured” to have his work recognised on such a significant platform.

The UTM graduate is grateful for the opportunity to attend the youth conference. UTM offers scholarships for undergraduate students to participate in international academic gatherings.

The APacCHRIE 2024 Youth Conference “provided me with a valuable opportunity to connect with outstanding scholars and students from different parts of the world, broadening my academic horizons and inspiring in me new ideas and insights,” he states. “This experience will have a profound impact on my future academic development.”

Killian’s research explored the impact of short tourism video advertisements on TikTok audiences, revealing that viewers reacted differently to general promotional content – such as travel packages and hotel rates – compared to advertisements featuring humanistic content, highlighting things such as a destination’s unique cultural elements.

“For general promotional advertisements, the commercial attributes are too obvious,” which can exacerbate consumer fatigue regarding advertising, explains Killian. He notes that such advertisements tend to draw attention only if viewers are already interested in the destination or find the cost of visiting to be set at a particularly attractive level.

In contrast, advertisements with humanistic content are more challenging for viewers to recognise as traditional advertisements, as they focus on elements like food, people, and cultural landscapes. “People are more likely to watch the entire video when it showcases specific offerings of a destination, rather than just emphasising low prices,” Killian observes.

In his paper, the UTM graduate advised destination-marketing organisations and tourism product suppliers to adopt a dual approach, creating both types of advertisements to cater to different audience preferences. He suggested enhancing these advertisements based on their particular characteristics to improve overall effectiveness.

Killian’s award-winning paper was an extension of his undergraduate thesis at UTM. His earlier work had already garnered recognition, including a ‘Best Paper’ prize at UTM’s Tourism Education Student Summit.

Killian is set to continue his academic journey in the United States, via postgraduate studies in quantitative marketing analytics and artificial intelligence.