Resumen de Billboards and Tourism in the Missouri Ozarks: Boon or Blight?
Billboards are a common form of roadside advertising because information can be conveyed to a target population in a timely and cost-effective manner. Although designed to increase profit, many individuals find billboards to be a source of visual pollution and argue for their removal. The issue is divisive, pitting usefulness against aesthetics. A pilot study was conducted to (1) count the total number of billboards along a 50-mile portion of US Highway 65 between Springfield and Branson, Missouri, and (2) determine whether these messages influenced tourist behavior. Out of 230 advertisements, 46 (20%) were for live shows and performances. Results from this study suggest that billboards played a minor role in visitors' ticket purchase behavior. Decisions regarding billboard advertising should be made by the live entertainment industry in Branson, not using subjective arguments that focus exclusively on aesthetics.
