Urban professionals’ restorative tourism: exploring the role of perceived environmental restorativeness, push and pull motivations and destination attributes on tourism expectations
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Introduction: Urban professionals often seek respite from their daily routines through restorative tourism, driven by a complex interplay of motivations that include both internal "push" factors and external "pull" factors. This study investigates the intricate relationship between the perceived environmental restorativeness of tourist destinations and the expectations of urban professionals engaging in restorative tourism. Furthermore, it examines how push and pull motivations mediate this relationship while also considering the moderating effect of destination attributes. Methods: The multiple regression analyses on the survey data collected from 221 urban professionals with restorative tourism experiences provided quantitative evidence regarding the hypothesized relationships among perceived environmental restorativeness, push and pull motivations, destination attributes, and tourism expectations. Results: The results showed that perceived environmental restorativeness has a positive effect on urban professionals' tourism expectations; urban professionals' pull motivation and push motivation each play a mediating role between perceived environmental restorativeness and tourist expectations; and restorative tourism destination attributes have a moderating effect between perceived environmental restorativeness and push motivation, as well as the relationship between perceived environmental restorativeness and pull motivation. Discussion: This study provides essential theoretical contributions to restorative tourism and practical implications when designing restorative tourism destinations that target urban professionals.
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In rural tourism, tourists often prioritize personal restorative experiences and emotional bonds over a straightforward cognitive evaluation of destination image.
“In rural tourism, research shows that tourists often prioritize personal restorative experiences and emotional bonds over a straightforward cognitive evaluation of destination image (Huang and Bu, 2022; Ding and Xu, 2024).”
From A study on the influence of rural tourism’s perceived destination restorative qualities on loyalty based on SOR model (2025) · cites this paper as Ding and Xu, 2024
The Introduction describes urban professionals seeking relaxation and recovery at restorative destinations, and Hypothesis testing links perceived environmental restorativeness to tourism expectations. But the paper does not establish that rural tourists prioritize emotional bonds or restorative experiences over cognitive evaluations of destination image; its findings concern urban professionals and do not make that comparison. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn a quiet and close-to-nature environment, it is easier for visitors to engage in inner thinking and self-examination, thereby reassessing life goals, values and their own potential, and enhancing the realization experience.
“In the quiet and close-to-nature environment, it is easier for visitors to engage in inner thinking and self-examination, thereby reassessing life goals, values and their own potential, and enhancing the realization experience (Løvoll et al., 2020; Ding and Xu, 2024).”
From A study on the influence of rural tourism’s perceived destination restorative qualities on loyalty based on SOR model (2025) · cites this paper as Ding and Xu, 2024
The Introduction says that connecting with nature helps people step away from daily routines, consider their goals from a different angle, and feel calm. It does not address self-examination, reassessing values or personal potential, or an enhanced realization experience. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Zhu, N., Xu, H., Zhang, X., & Chen, L. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1529686 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
- Authors
- Ding, X., & Xu, J.
- Affiliations
- Xihua University (CN)
- Dong-Eui University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Xu, Jiajun
- ORCID
- Ding, Xianyao
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2024-03-19
- Volume
- 15
- Pages
- 1293050-1293050
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10985151
- OpenAlex
- W4392967033
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2
- FWCI
- 5.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Xihua University
- Sichuan Normal University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Global Healthcare and Medical Tourism
- Keywords
- urban professionals, push motivation, pull motivation, destination attributes, tourist expectations, destination design, work-life balance
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