Hotel Billboards as Cultural and Ideological Texts: Attention, Learning, and Identity in Tourism Advertising

In today’s visual and digital age hotel billboards have evolved beyond mere advertising tools into spaces where attention management, cultural representation and consumer ideology are reproduced. This study aims to analyze five selected hotel billboards (Merit Royal Hotel, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Adiki Hotels, Hostels.com and Pinatas Urban Residence) to explore how visual and verbal elements convey notions of culture, motivation and attention economy. The significance of the study lies in its focus on outdoor tourism advertising as a form of cultural and cognitive communication rather than purely economic promotion. The theoretical framework integrates Herbert A. Simon’s Attention Economy, Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and Adorno and Horkheimer’s Culture Industry approach. A qualitative content analysis method was employed. Each billboard was analyzed in terms of visual composition, color use, slogan structure and the psychological appeals embedded in the imagery. The scope of the study is limited to five selected cases representing both local and international hotel campaigns. Findings reveal that international hotel billboards tend to emphasize experience, belonging and freedom, while local examples focus more on prestige, trust and status. This contrast illustrates how cultural representations vary across global and local contexts, reflecting different ideological narratives. Overall, the study concludes that hotel billboards function not only as commercial advertisements but also as cultural and ideological texts shaping perception and identity in the tourism industry.