Destination Attributes of Memorable Chinese Rural Tourism Experiences: Impact on Positive Arousal, Memory and Behavioral Intention

“Factor loading, composite reliability and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) are commonly used to evaluate the convergent validity.(146) As shown in Table 2 that the factor loadings of the measurement items ranged from 0.”

“Behavioral intention refers to an individual’s tendency to show a behavior,(91) which is highly correlated with behavior and is an effective method to predict individual behavior.(92) In tourism research, the behavioral intention of tourists usually refers to the willingness of a tourist revisiting a tourism destinati…”

“In addition, although tranquility describes an emotional state of low arousal, it contains positive emotional states, such as peace, calm, relaxation, joy, happiness, satisfaction, comfort, and serenity.(108,109) As a unique rural form of tranquility, rural lifestyle is associated with positive arousal.”

“In addition, although tranquility describes an emotional state of low arousal, it contains positive emotional states, such as peace, calm, relaxation, joy, happiness, satisfaction, comfort, and serenity.(108,109) As a unique rural form of tranquility, rural lifestyle is associated with positive arousal.”

“The revisit intention and recommend intention of tourists are important indicators to measure tourist loyalty.(94)”

“According to Kiatkawsin and Han, destination attributes can be divided into two broad categories: the first category is called inherited or endowed resources, mainly including climate, nature, heritage and local cuisine,(48) which is usually the primary factor to attract tourists to the destination.(49) The second cat…”

“Positive Arousal In the study of Oh et al, arousal is defined as the intensity of the physiological response to a stimulus on the continuum from calm to excitement, which is considered an emotion after tourism experiences.(36) Kim et al proposed that arousal is a physiological or psychological state that is stimulated…”

“Experiencing something new or different from everyday life is inherent in tourism, and this experience is referred to as peak experience, which mainly includes some scenic spots that account for the main motivation for the tourist to travel, and tourism experiences include both peak experiences and supportive (extensi…”

“MTEs are selectively constructed based on an individual’s evaluation of tourism experiences.(39) Only those dimensions of tourism experiences that have a strong impact on individual tourists and lead to memories are considered in the dimensions of MTEs.”

“Local food has the potential to create strong connections between tourists and the destination, as well as the people, history and culture, enhancing and enriching tourism experiences.(52,53) However, in the study of Kim,(44)”

“Memory Memory means remembering some certain events.(72) Memory is an active and constructive process of acquiring, storing and retrieving information for decision-making.”

“Hypothesis Development Gastronomy and Positive Arousal Tourism and gastronomy are seen as hedonic products.(95,96) Therefore, when tourists experience gastronomy in rural tourism, they are engaged in hedonic consumption.”

“819%, which is less than 50%, indicating that there is no obvious CMV problem in the data of this study.(141)”

“It also refers to a person’s self-stimulated emotional level.(66) In the field of tourism, arousal is often regarded as the psychological state of being stimulated or activated and as the emotion after tourism experiences.”

“The Chain Mediating Effect of Positive Arousal and Memory Previous studies show that positive arousal, memory and post experience behavior are the outcome variables of experience dimensions.(36,114) Good experiences lead to positive emotions,(72) and MTEs lead to positive arousal.”

“In the study of tourist loyalty, the perspective focused on attitude is the most appropriate, because tourists will be loyal to the destination, even if they do not visit it many times.(89,90) Behavioral intention refers to an individual’s tendency to show a behavior,(91) which is highly correlated with behavior and i…”

“This study has the following theoretical contributions: First, throughout the existing research on the relationship between MTEs and tourist loyalty, most of them start from the dimension of personal psychological factors of MTEs.8,35,84 There is no explicit discussion of the question of how destinations can deliver M…”

“Specifically, for the tourism industry, experiences are seen as the key to success, innovation and competitiveness.(2,3) Creating memorable experiences for tourists is the essence of tourism(4) and the core of the tourism industry.”

“In the current research on the relationship between MTEs and tourist loyalty, satisfaction is often applied as a mediating variable and is often considered an antecedent of tourist loyalty,(85) however, other studies have shown that satisfaction alone does not create loyalty to a destination.(22) Previous studies have…”

“In the multistage experience model of Clawson and Knetsch, MTEs occur in the last stage, namely the recall stage.(40) MTEs are selectively constructed based on an individual’s evaluation of tourism experiences.”

“Compared with the initial model, the O (organism) part of the current SOR theory mainly includes two types of internal reactions: affective reaction and cognitive reaction.(33) Affective reaction refers to the emotional response that occurs when an individual interacts with a stimulus, and cognitive reaction refers to…”

“Both marketing and tourism research has found that the decisions of consumers and tourists are influenced by their memories of past experiences.(23) Wirtz et al believe that the memory of past tourism experiences is the best predictor for making similar tourism decisions in the future.”

“When consumers engage in hedonic consumption related to the positive emotions of the consumption experience, they will experience the emotional response of arousal.(97,98) The study of Sahin and Guzel also confirmed that gastronomy experienced in tourism leads to positive arousal.”

“Destination attributes are the collection of various components of a destination, such as the physical and natural environment and the services and facilities that attract tourists.(47) According to Kiatkawsin and Han, destination attributes can be divided into two broad categories: the first category is called inheri…”

“Local food has the potential to create strong connections between tourists and the destination, as well as the people, history and culture, enhancing and enriching tourism experiences.(52,53) However, in the study of Kim,(44)”

“However, few studies regarded it as one of the dimensions of MTEs, and most of the existing studies are from a Western perspective, believing that most tourists have limited interest in the rural lifestyle.(61,62) Furthermore, the research of Reisinger et al shows that due to the existence of cultural differences, Eas…”

“7.(145) Hence, the composite reliability of constructs in this study was good.”

“Therefore, the study of the dimensions of MTEs has become one of the important topics in this research field.(42) Although current studies have not formed a unified understanding of the dimensions of MTEs, they can be generally divided into two types of dimensions: personal psychological factors and destination attrib…”

“Individuals are more likely to keep memories of highly positive events than negative events.(80) Memory plays an important role in future tourism decisions,(81) and Kim et al emphasize the necessity to bring memory into the tourism experiences study.”

“This study has the following theoretical contributions: First, throughout the existing research on the relationship between MTEs and tourist loyalty, most of them start from the dimension of personal psychological factors of MTEs.8,35,84 There is no explicit discussion of the question of how destinations can deliver M…”

“Because it’s easier for people to remember experiences that contain emotional arousal,(70) Loureiro and Kastenholz emphasize that in the context of rural tourism, rural tourists need experiences that bring positive arousal to generate positive affect.(71) In the current research, few studies have explored the relation…”

“However, few studies regarded it as one of the dimensions of MTEs, and most of the existing studies are from a Western perspective, believing that most tourists have limited interest in the rural lifestyle.(61,62) Furthermore, the research of Reisinger et al shows that due to the existence of cultural differences, Eas…”

“Memory and Recommend Intention/Revisit Intention Many tourism scholars have emphasized the role of memory in tourist behavior,(39,116,117) in particular, the impact on tourists’ revisit intention is obvious.(86,118) Both marketing and tourism research has found that the decisions of consumers and tourists are influenc…”

“Rural tourism often provides an experience that relieves the stress of everyday city life.(12) It is a type of tourism that must not be neglected because rural tourism not only provides visitors with opportunities to get close to nature, scenery and rural culture, but also helps to support the sustainable development…”

“Hassan and Soliman found that arousal has an impact on revisit intention.(124) Sahin and Guzel also confirmed that positive arousal and memory are the results of MTEs, and both can mediate the relationship between MTEs and behavioral intention.”

“Memory is an active and constructive process of acquiring, storing and retrieving information for decision-making.(73) There are two types of memory, namely, semantic memory and episodic memory, semantic memory stores information related to the tourist destination name or the name of the place visited, and episodic me…”

“Affective reaction refers to the emotional response that occurs when an individual interacts with a stimulus, and cognitive reaction refers to the mental process, positive cognitive reaction stimulates an individual’s behavioral response, while a negative cognitive reaction inhibits an individual’s behavioral response…”

“Compared with general customer loyalty, tourists’ loyalty to a destination is more difficult to obtain and therefore requires more effort.(19) Researchers believe that it is very important to incorporate MTEs into the antecedents of tourist loyalty, but only a few researchers have tried to do so.”

“Positive arousal was measured by the four items used in the research of Kastenholz et al.(38) Memory was measured by the three items used in the research of Oh et al.”

“When consumers engage in hedonic consumption related to the positive emotions of the consumption experience, they will experience the emotional response of arousal.(97,98) The study of Sahin and Guzel also confirmed that gastronomy experienced in tourism leads to positive arousal.”

“Some studies in the field of tourism have shown a positive relationship between memory and behavioral intention (including recommend and revisit intention).(68,123) Therefore, this study speculates that in rural tourism destinations, the more positive and profound the memory is, the greater the impact on recommend int…”

“Gastronomy is an important part of the tourism experiences.(50) Ritchie and Zins found through interviews with tourists and residents of tourist destinations that both groups believe that gastronomy is a very important cultural factor in attracting tourists.”

“Ritchie and Zins found through interviews with tourists and residents of tourist destinations that both groups believe that gastronomy is a very important cultural factor in attracting tourists.(51) Local food has the potential to create strong connections between tourists and the destination, as well as the people, h…”

“Behavioral Intention Loyalty is mainly studied from two perspectives: behavioral loyalty related to consumers’ repeated purchases and attitudinal loyalty related to consumers’ psychological commitment.(87) The research of Soliman and Abou-Shouk confirmed that behavioral intention has a positive impact on behavior.”

“Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibanez found that visual stimuli provided by natural landscapes with biosphere content have a positive impact on arousal, in addition, people prefer green landscapes with water and familiar biota, and the visual stimulation of both landscapes can trigger arousal.(103) Yamauchi et al showed that,…”

“Positive arousal includes joy, ecstasy, interest, happiness, love, and so on.(69) Because it’s easier for people to remember experiences that contain emotional arousal,(70) Loureiro and Kastenholz emphasize that in the context of rural tourism, rural tourists need experiences that bring positive arousal to generate po…”

“This study has the following theoretical contributions: First, throughout the existing research on the relationship between MTEs and tourist loyalty, most of them start from the dimension of personal psychological factors of MTEs.8,35,84 There is no explicit discussion of the question of how destinations can deliver M…”

“This study has the following theoretical contributions: First, throughout the existing research on the relationship between MTEs and tourist loyalty, most of them start from the dimension of personal psychological factors of MTEs.8,35,84 There is no explicit discussion of the question of how destinations can deliver M…”

“Zhang and Xu mentioned two types of landscapes of tourism destinations: the social symbolic landscape, which refers to symbols, signs and handicrafts with social collective significance, will affect tourists in a unique subcultural way and have unique significance for tourists; and the restorative landscape, which ref…”

“Jiang studied the connection between the sound landscape in the natural landscape and the emotions of tourists from the perspective of the auditory senses, which shows that the natural soundscape significantly affects the emotional arousal of tourists.(102) Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibanez found that visual stimuli provid…”

“Although current studies have not formed a unified understanding of the dimensions of MTEs, they can be generally divided into two types of dimensions: personal psychological factors and destination attributes.(43) The seven dimensions proposed by Kim et al include hedonism, knowledge, meaningfulness, refreshment, nov…”

“Previous studies suggested that the dimension composition of MTEs differ due to the different types of tourism destinations, tourism activities, tourists’ previous experiences and cultural backgrounds.(6) Therefore, it is necessary to study the destination attributes of MTEs under the background of this study.”

“Previous studies have shown that MTEs are stored in memory, and memories are an important information source for tourists to decide whether to revisit a destination in the future.(86)”

“Retaining existing customers is preferable and less costly than attracting new ones.(18) Compared with general customer loyalty, tourists’ loyalty to a destination is more difficult to obtain and therefore requires more effort.”

“As an important element of nature tourism destinations, the natural soundscape has been widely recognized as an important perceived element and ideal experience for tourists in nature tourism destinations.(101) Jiang studied the connection between the sound landscape in the natural landscape and the emotions of touris…”

“Whether it is weekends or holidays, a growing number of urban Chinese prefer to spend time at the countryside.(16) To sum up, Chinese rural tourism, with its rich of rural tourism destinations and large number of tourists, deserves more attention of researchers and practitioners.”

“Memory is affected by one’s arousal state.(111) Researchers believe that”

“The emotional aspects of past experiences help people remember those experiences better.(110) Memory is affected by one’s arousal state.”

“Positive memories of a destination increase the likelihood that first-time tourists’ revisit intention.(121) According to the study of Zhang et al, autobiographical memory has a positive relationship with revisit intention, and the memory discussed in this study focuses on autobiographical memory.”

“Such as gastronomic tourism in Iran,(7) zoo and museum tourism in Finland,(8) forest tourism in Taiwan,(9) and island tourism in Santorini and Greece.(10) However, the existing research results supported that there is still a lack of research on MTEs in rural tourism.”

“Gastronomy was measured by the three items used in the research of Sahin and Guzel.46 Accommodation was measured by the three items used in the research of Kiatkawsin and Han.48 Physiography was measured by the three items used in the research of Kim.44 Rural lifestyle was measured by the three items used in the resea…”

“higher levels of arousal help aid in memory formation and long-term memory.(112) In the field of tourism, some researchers have reached similar conclusions.”

“Marschall highlights the influence of memory on destination choice, as tourists usually revisit places in connection with positive memories of previous trips for nostalgia.(120) Positive memories of a destination increase the likelihood that first-time tourists’ revisit intention.”

“The study of Sthapit on tourists who obtain accommodation experience through Airbnb showed that, due to the different qualities of accommodation services, tourists’ accommodation experience vary greatly, which may lead to positive or negative emotional arousal.(100) Positive arousal is the positive halo effect that de…”

“It is a type of tourism that must not be neglected because rural tourism not only provides visitors with opportunities to get close to nature, scenery and rural culture, but also helps to support the sustainable development of rural local communities.(13) Therefore, rural tourism deserves more attention from industry…”

“This study has the following theoretical contributions: First, throughout the existing research on the relationship between MTEs and tourist loyalty, most of them start from the dimension of personal psychological factors of MTEs.8,35,84 There is no explicit discussion of the question of how destinations can deliver M…”

“Presently, the beautiful leisure village model, which combines rural leisure tourism with construction of rural ecology, is a development model in Chinese rural areas, and by the year 2021, a total of 1470 Chinese villages were selected as beautiful leisure villages according to the list released by the Ministry of Ag…”

“MTEs are complex and multidimensional.(41) Therefore, the study of the dimensions of MTEs has become one of the important topics in this research field.”

“This study confirms Sthapit et al that accommodation experience as a supportive experience cannot be ignored in research regarding tourism experiences.(59) Experiencing something new or different from everyday life is inherent in tourism, and this experience is referred to as peak experience, which mainly includes som…”

“Kim et al proposed that arousal is a physiological or psychological state that is stimulated or activated,(64) representing the degree to which a person feels enthused and active in the consumption experience.(65) It also refers to a person’s self-stimulated emotional level.”

“The rural lifestyle proposed in this study includes the authenticity and folk customs of the countryside as well as a unique rural form of tranquility.(105,106) In addition, an important function of rural tourism is to provide an experience that relieves the stress of everyday city life,(12) and rural lifestyle enable…”

“For managers and relevant practitioners of rural tourism destinations, gaining the loyalty of tourists to rural tourism destinations is crucial to the long-term prosperity of a tourist destination.(17) Retaining existing customers is preferable and less costly than attracting new ones.”

“Yamauchi et al showed that, compared with simple visual or tactile interaction, tactile and visual multisensory interaction with plants effectively enhanced the arousal level.(104) Therefore, this study speculates that rural tourists either visually appreciate the natural landscape in rural physiography, have intimate…”

“75 reflects that the in-sample prediction of the structural model was weak, moderate and substantial, respectively.(143) Overall, the R(2) values in this study were satisfactory.”

“However, Huang and Bu (2022) demonstrated that the tranquility attribute of rural tourism had a positive impact on tourists ’ arousal.”

“…range of sensory inputs, from visual and auditory to olfactory and atmospheric cues, which impact the organism’s (O) internal state – predominantly emotional reactions – and culminate in behavioural responses, manifesting as either approach or avoidance actions (Fu et al., 2024; Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“…et al., 2022). thus, the government contributes significantly to optimizing various aspects of the tourism experiences to deepen tourists’ memories (Huang & Bu, 2022). consequently, the following hypothesis is formulated: H3. the relationship between (a) the economic aspect, (b) the environmental…”

“Huang and Bu (2022) noted that rural tourism attributes indirectly shape memories through positive arousal.”

“Empirical research by Huang and Bu (2022) shows that the intensity of emotional arousal in cultural exhibitions is significantly correlated with cultural participation willingness.”

“Positive emotional associations and coherent impressions embedded within destination image strengthen perceived experiential value, allowing tourists to feel more confident about the expected outcome of their choice [59,60].”

“Additionally, research by Huang and Bu (2022) investigated the impact of MTEs on tourist loyalty in rural China, further supporting these findings.”

“Based on disconfirmation theory, exceeding customer expectations enhances satisfaction levels (R. Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“Traditional informative approaches are no longer sufficient; instead, visually appealing, narratively appealing, and culturally authentic promotion techniques are needed to generate significant connections and behavioral responses [61–63].”

“Lastly, Huang and Bu (2022) created a model for destination attributes such as gastronomy, accommodation, physiography, and rural lifestyle, examining their effects on tourists' recommendations and revisiting intentions.”

“Huang and Bu (2022) pointed out that memorable experiences in rural tourism can be delivered to tourists by optimizing accommodation, physiography, gastro-nomy, and rural culture.”

“…atmospheres to provide tourists with di ff erent tourism experiences (Silva & Prista, 2016), and as urbanisation increases, rural tourism is becoming more prominent in relieving psychological stress among people mainly from urban areas (Huang & Bu, 2022; Ohe et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2022).”

“In tourism research, the SOR framework has been widely applied to explain how destination attributes influence tour-ists’ internal states like emotions, satisfaction, and PV, which in turn determine their behavioral intentions such as loyalty [16,26].”

“The recollections of previous encounters exert significant sway on the future choices of tourists, emphasizing the significance of memorable tourism experiences (Gerou, 2022; Huang & Bu, 2022; Monika et al., 2022).”

“…levels of empowerment are more likely to actively participate in tourism activities (Mvondo et al., 2022), perceive the experience more positively (Shafieisabet & Haratifard, 2020), and develop stronger emotional attachments and behavioral intentions toward the destination (Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“Traditional agricultural methods no longer suffice to meet the evolving demands of agricultural development [3].”

“It was argued that high arousal levels create memorable experiences which in turn influence revisit intentions and recommendation behaviors (Huang and Bu, 2022), thereby affecting citizenship behaviors.”

“Extending this perspective, the quality of accommodation was demonstrated as a pivotal economic attribute that significantly shapes travelers’ overall satisfaction [8].”

“For many Chinese tourists, these smells are deeply rooted in formative life experiences, such as visits to relatives, childhood moments, or time spent in nature in the countryside (Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“Through the leadership and support of art empowerment, traditional culture has been better protected and inherited [20].”

“Attractive streamers stimulate viewers to act spontaneously, prioritizing immediate emotional gratification (Kang et al., 2020; Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“These research findings are supported by Huang and Bu (2022), who state that a person ’ s experiences can leave an impression on memories that shape their memory.”

“Integrating natural attractions, cultural heritage, and community participation can create authentic and memorable experiences, while ensuring satisfying experiences strengthens the relationship between attractions and tourists’ behavioral intentions (Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“This gap in understanding is particularly relevant in rural tourism, where a close experience with nature and local culture can leave a memorable experience that can be used as a catalyst for subsequent return behavior (Huang and Bu, 2022; Li J. et al., 2024; Li D. et al., 2024).”

“Escaping urban stress and experiencing rural tranquility are among the primary motivations for choosing rural tourism destinations (Huang et al., 2022).”

“…development and ensuring long-term sustainability (O. T. K. Vu, 2025) This involves targeted training programs in coffee cultivation, processing, and hospitality management, which can empower local communities to effectively manage and benefit from agro-tourism initiatives (Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“Within the MDL framework, memorable experiences are not terminal outcomes but psychological foundations that persist, evolve, and generate value long after the on-site encounter (Huang & Bu, 2022).”

“…Liu, 2023), travel experiences, subjective norms, destination attributes, service quality, or environmental cues, shape travelers ’ emotional andcognitivestates,whichthendeterminesatisfaction,loyalty, or behavioral intentions (Alsaggaf and Althonayan, 2018; Huang and Bu, 2022; Kim et al., 2020).”

“This supports the views of Huang and Bu [41], who suggested that positive emotional arousal enhances memory and behavioral outcomes.”

“This finding also aligns with a study by Huang and Bu (2022) highlighting the significance of physical experience, behavioral and lifestyle (ACT) shopping experience in influencing revisit intention and store loyalty.”