The influence of human elements in photographs on tourists' destination perceptions and intentions

Photographs with a human element are powerful in influencing viewers' perceptions and decision-making processes. However, rare quantitative evidence was detected about the best human presenting percentage and how it affects the intention. In this study, we decoded how human elements (presence or absence, low or high proportion) affect viewers' perceptions and intentions in nature/culture-based photographs. Innovatively, three deep learning models and two experiments were integrated. The results indicate that (1) in general, maintaining the proportion of human elements at less than 1% leads to the best positive perception, and (2) the viewers demonstrate different perceptions and intentions in viewing nature-based and culture-based photographs with the human element. Theoretically, we bring a new perspective and approach to understanding the marketing value of human elements in tourist-generated photographs. Practically, we provide specific and different clues in choosing photographs to promote cultural and natural destinations regarding human elements.