How to Turn Cultural Tourism "Traffic" into "Retention"? A Process-Based Study on Tourist Ritual Perception and Its Functioning Mechanism

LU Junyang¹², DENG Aimin³, WEI Junfeng¹², LONG Qianying¹²

¹ School of History, Culture and Tourism, Jiangxi Normal University
² Research Center for Tourism Development, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
³ School of Business Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China

Abstract: Against the backdrop of deep cultural-tourism integration, tourist rituals serve the dual function of cultural revitalization and visitor retention, yet face the practical dilemma of "failing to turn traffic into retention." This stems from existing research predominantly adopting a static perspective, which has failed to deeply investigate the phased evolution of tourists' ritual perception and its cross-level transmission mechanisms. To address this gap, this study proposes an integrated "design-perception-behavior" framework: it establishes business ritual design characteristics as the core stimulus to resolve the antecedent "black box" of perception formation and the "supply-demand disconnect" problem; pioneers a process-based tourist ritual perception scale to explore the phased evolution of ritual experiences; and constructs a cross-level "individual-place-group" theoretical model to systematically analyze the multiple pathways and boundary conditions through which ritual perception drives Intention to Extend Stay. This research advances tourist ritual studies from static characterization toward process-based analysis. By investigating underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions, it provides innovative solutions for destinations to optimize ritual design and enhance cultural-contextual adaptability.

Keywords: tourist ritual, tourist ritual perception, intention to extend stay, process perspective, ritual design

1. Problem Statement

Currently, driven by digital marketing and influencer economy, the cultural tourism industry is experiencing unprecedented "traffic prosperity." Destinations compete to launch festival promotions and influencer check-in strategies, with visitor numbers reaching new highs. However, beneath this prosperity lies profound "retention anxiety": existing research confirms that short-term visitor growth at tourist destinations has not formed significant positive associations with visitor experience quality (Rasoolimanesh et al., 2021), revisit intention, or destination stickiness (Li et al., 2023). This systematic predicament of "traffic is easy to obtain, retention is hard to achieve" has become a core bottleneck restricting the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry. Against the national strategic backdrop of deep cultural-tourism integration, how to rely on cultural genes to construct cultural experience scenes that deeply attract visitors and establish lasting connections, and achieve the value transformation from "traffic harvesting" to "retention cultivation," has become an urgent proposition that both academia and industry must address.

As a carrier for the living performance of destination culture (Shi et al., 2022), tourist rituals have become the "cultural key" to solving "retention anxiety" through symbolic narrative and situational performance. Their unique value lies in penetrating the entire tourist experience process (motivation triggering → on-site immersion → memory retention), providing a natural "spatiotemporal carrier" for transforming instantaneous traffic into lasting retention (Huang Lihua & Cao Xishen, 2021). From an economic perspective, well-designed rituals are key "traffic engines" for activating consumption chains and increasing per-customer spending (Rasoolimanesh et al., 2021). From a cultural perspective, rituals become key carriers for cultural heritage revitalization and cultural meaning construction through symbolic narrative and situational performance (Liu Jiaying, 2023). From a social perspective, rituals can effectively promote emotional integration between hosts and guests and cross-cultural consensus, serving as a medium for promoting destination social connections (Zhou Kai & Zhang Yan, 2022; Woosnam et al., 2009). Most critically, the procedural, symbolic, and interactive characteristics of rituals give them the unique potential to "anchor" tourists in the present moment, stimulate deep immersion, and facilitate meaning construction (Lu et al., 2024), which constitutes the important psychological foundation for "retention" generation (Turner, 1969; Collins, 2004).

However, existing research has been limited to static outcome orientation, failing to adequately investigate the core process of how "traffic" transforms into "retention" through ritual experience—that is, the generation mechanism and influence pathways of "tourist ritual perception." This is specifically manifested in three aspects: First, current research overemphasizes terminal static representations of ritual utility (such as "sense of ritual" and "uniqueness") (Bai Shizhen et al., 2021), neglecting the dynamic process of individual perception evolving with ritual progression (Lu et al., 2024). This neglect of the perception process makes it difficult for research to explain significant differences in visitor experience depth and memory intensity under identical ritual contexts. Second, existing research has not systematically deconstructed the complete causal chain of "design stimulus (supply side) → perception response (demand side) → behavior transformation (retention)," and current fragmented research is confined to single levels (such as individual emotional response or place attractiveness), making it difficult to reveal the multiple collaborative pathways through which ritual perception drives retention transformation. Third, there is insufficient understanding of the moderating effects of key contextual variables. Existing research has not examined the roles of boundary conditions such as ritual participation mode, cultural distance, ritual type, and tourist identity, weakening the universality and practical guidance value of research conclusions. These research gaps not only hinder deep theoretical understanding of the ritual experience "black box" but also constrain destinations' ability to enhance retention transformation efficiency through optimized ritual experiences in practice.

In view of this, this study focuses on the phased generation process of tourist ritual perception and its multi-level influence mechanisms. First, it scientifically defines the connotation of tourist ritual perception and captures its evolutionary trajectory with ritual progression based on multi-source data. Second, it establishes ritual design characteristics as antecedent influence variables of perception, providing a foundation for optimizing design. Third, it empirically investigates the multiple pathways through which ritual perception influences intention to extend stay and the moderating effects of key contextual variables. Through these investigations, this study aims to analyze the core mechanism of ritual experience to retention transformation, providing scientific support for destinations to enhance visitors' intention to extend stay through ritual design optimization, cultural-contextual adaptation, and participation mode adjustment.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Ritual and Tourist Ritual Perception

Since "ritual" was established as an independent research object in the late 19th century, academic attention has shifted from exploring its social origins to explaining its social functions (Bell & Kreinath, 2021). The conceptual core of ritual points to symbolic practice under cultural regulation, that is, condensing collective experience and achieving cultural value transmission through proceduralized behavior (Rook, 1985). This practice contains three essential attributes: formal normativity requires preset scripts, ritualized scenes, and specific audiences (Gainer, 1995); process repetitiveness manifests as stable behavioral rhythms and performance regulations (Tetreault & Kleine, 1990); and meaning productivity constructs collective memory through symbol reproduction (Durkheim, 1912).

The core social function of ritual lies in the dynamic generation of emotional energy: it can not only evoke strong emotional resonance in the present (Goffman, 2017) but also, more importantly, guide subsequent behavioral decisions through the continuous accumulation of "emotional energy" (Collins, 2004). This dual emotional mechanism of "immediate evocation-extended drive" constitutes the theoretical foundation for understanding how tourist ritual experiences transform into visitor behavior.

When ritual is embedded in the tourism field, its cultural transmission function faces unique tensions: as a deep experience carrier, tourist rituals shoulder the dual mission of "traffic transformation" and "cultural revitalization" (Shi et al., 2022). However, host-guest cultural cognitive biases often lead to "symbolic misreading and supply-demand misalignment" (Lu Junyang, 2021), triggering resource misallocation and experience depreciation. More critically, the key theoretical limitation lies in that existing research stubbornly adheres to macro-static effect descriptions (Bai Shizhen et al., 2021), lacking deconstruction of the phased evolution of perception: it neither tracks the evolutionary trajectory of individual cognition during ritual participation nor reveals the dynamic logic of group interaction. Therefore, revealing the "process black box" of tourist perception and systematically analyzing its generation pathways and evolution mechanisms has become the core entry point for breaking through the dilemmas of tourist ritual experience design and effectiveness transformation.

2.2 Tourist Ritual Perception and Related Concepts

Tourist ritual perception refers to the process in which tourists, within the liminal spatiotemporal context of tourism, dynamically decode symbols and negotiate meanings regarding destination performance rituals. Although it shares the same symbolic interaction domain in service contexts as consumption ritual sense (Fei et al., 2021), there exist essential differences: (1) In goal orientation, consumption rituals pursue functional utility (such as satisfaction enhancement), while tourist ritual perception serves cultural meaning construction; (2) In power structure, consumption ritual sense reflects customer-dominant logic, whereas tourists occupy a cultural marginal position in tourism contexts (MacCannell, 1973) with limited power; (3) In perception tension, tourist ritual perception requires continuous coping with the internal tension triggered by "constructed authenticity" evaluation, a core conflict absent in consumption ritual sense. Therefore, the concept and scale of consumption ritual sense cannot capture the core characteristics of tourism contexts, necessitating the development of a specialized scale to portray its dynamic process and unique mechanisms.

The particularity of tourist ritual perception stems from tourism context characteristics: First, liminal detachment (Turner, 1969): tourists temporarily detach from daily identities and reconstruct meaning in high emotional immersion, distinguishing it from the procedural repetition of consumption/organizational rituals. Second, cultural distance tension (Cohen, 1972): as "cultural intruders" (MacCannell, 1973), tourists must continuously negotiate the symbolic metaphors of others (such as interpreting the sacredness of sacrificial dances), whereas consumption rituals are rooted in shared cultural contexts. Third, the commodification-authenticity paradox: as cultural commodities, tourist rituals' core perception conflict lies in the evaluation of "authenticity," a demand significantly absent in organizational/consumption rituals.

As shown in Table 1 [TABLE:1], the differentiation from related concepts further reveals the phased evolution characteristics, cultural negotiation mechanisms, and internal tension essence of tourist ritual perception. However, existing research has not systematically analyzed the internal mechanisms of its perception evolution. Therefore, developing a specialized scale must break through static measurement paradigms and construct a research framework integrating "process stage tracking" and "core mechanism deconstruction" to fill this critical theoretical gap.

Table 1 Core Differences Between Tourist Ritual Perception and Related Concepts and Scale Design Implications

Core Difference Tourist Ritual Perception Consumption Ritual Sense (Fei et al., 2021) Organizational Ritual Perception (Zhang Haizhou et al., 2018) Tourism Ritual Sense (Bai Shizhen et al., 2021) Tourist Ritual Interaction (Lu et al., 2024) Scale Design Implications Goal Orientation: Functional Utility vs. Cultural Meaning Construction Add cultural metaphor decoding items Power Structure: Customer Centrality vs. Tourist Cultural Marginalization Add narrative dominance perception items Perception Focus: Service Satisfaction vs. Authenticity Negotiation Tension Strengthen symbolic decoding mechanism measurement Group Attributes: Internal Members vs. Cross-Cultural Temporary Community Add cross-cultural adaptation measurement items Participation Logic: Rule Internalization vs. Meaning Negotiation Adopt retrospective event diary method Emotional Foundation: Organizational Identity vs. Liminal Empathy Develop process-anchored items Time Attribute: Static Outcome vs. Dynamic Process Integrate multi-source data Measurement Paradigm: Terminal State vs. Stage Evolution Construct "design-perception" mapping Mechanism Depth: Utility Evaluation vs. Cognitive-Emotional Feedback Research Perspective: Supply-Side Behavior vs. Supply-Demand Matching Interaction Unit: Behavioral Observation vs. Meaning Co-Construction

2.3 Antecedents of Individual Ritual Participation

Current research on antecedents of tourist ritual experience presents a fragmented态势, focusing mainly on three categories of factors:

Motivation Drive: Based on the psychological "motivation-behavior" framework, core motivations for ritual participation include belief-driven (such as religious pilgrimages, Brooks et al., 2016), emotional comfort (such as wandering/leisure/curiosity/exploration needs, Haab, 1998), and symbolic decoding needs (such as desire for novel experiences and cultural learning, Lu et al., 2024).

Relationship Connection: Rituals serve as media for relationship reproduction (Rasoolimanesh et al., 2021), driving deep participation by strengthening emotional bonds (Wei Haiying et al., 2018) and promoting cultural information sharing between tourists and destinations.

Moderating Effects of Individual Traits: Gender and "fresh start mindset" have interactive effects on tourist ritual experience and well-being (Li Hao et al., 2023): under high mindset levels, males show stronger behavioral control; under low levels, gender differences are not significant. Additionally, tourists' cognitive factors such as cultural capital may also moderate symbolic decoding effectiveness.

2.4 Outcomes of Tourist Rituals

Existing research indicates that tourist rituals have multi-level impacts:

Individual Level: Elaborately designed destination rituals can significantly enhance tourists' immersion, satisfaction, and sense of meaning (Li Hao et al., 2023), evoke authentic experiences and deep emotional resonance (Huang Lihua & Cao Xishen, 2021), and thereby enhance well-being and revisit intention (Ran Yaxuan et al., 2018; Bai Shizhen et al., 2021).

Place Level: In destination governance, rituals undertake three functions: "resource integration—cultural inheritance—image shaping." They provide frameworks for tourism resource revitalization (Lu Junyang, 2021); serve as living carriers of cultural heritage to promote intangible cultural continuity (Liu Jiaying, 2023); and enhance cultural attractiveness and brand recognition through unique experiences (Shi et al., 2022).

Group Level: Based on emotional solidarity theory, public rituals can stimulate solidarity and emotional intimacy, consolidating group relationships. In tourism contexts (host-guest/tourist interactions) and ethnic regions, rituals can promote emotional solidarity, social connection, ethnic identity, and social integration (Zhou Kai & Zhang Yan, 2022; Tang et al., 2023).

2.5 Literature Review Summary

Although domestic and international scholars have made progress in conceptual definition, dimensional measurement, and effect testing of tourist ritual sense, methodologically they still adhere to a "static paradigm" that cannot track phased changes in perception. Based on systematic literature review, this study identifies the following critical research gaps:

First, there is an absence of conceptual and process-based measurement tools. Existing research mostly relies on cross-sectional data to measure terminal states such as "sense of ritual" (e.g., Bai Shizhen et al., 2021), with item designs fixated on utility endpoints (e.g., "feeling sacred"), unable to explain the phenomenon of "identical rituals triggering differentiated perceptions." Although Lu et al. (2024) introduced an interaction perspective, they did not anchor the temporal path of perception internalization, resulting in blurred conceptual boundaries. There is an urgent need to develop a phased scale to parse the perception "black box."

Second, there is fragmentation in multi-level mechanisms. While existing research has verified fragmented effects of rituals (such as individual immersion, place cultural attractiveness), it neglects the internal mechanisms of effect transmission. Particularly lacking is systematic integration of ritual's core function as a "relationship reproduction carrier" and its boundary conditions in tourism contexts, necessitating the construction of cross-level models for deeper mechanism deconstruction.

Third, research perspectives and methods lag behind. Current research mostly relies on cross-sectional data, making it difficult to capture the evolutionary trajectory of perception. More critically, disciplinary barriers between psychology, anthropology, and service management hinder the revelation of key mechanisms. Future research needs to integrate multi-disciplinary theories and mixed methods (grounded theory, eye-tracking, and longitudinal experiments) to construct cross-level research frameworks that enhance mechanistic explanatory power.

3. Research Framework

This series of studies centers on "tourist ritual perception," establishes "ritual design characteristics" as the key stimulus for perception generation, and achieves the transformation from static outcomes to process-based analysis through scale development, mechanism integration, and boundary analysis.

The specific research design comprises four interconnected sub-studies (as shown in Figure 1 [FIGURE:1]). Study 1 defines the conceptual boundaries of tourist ritual perception from a process perspective, develops a high-reliability and validity scale, and verifies the antecedent association of "ritual design characteristic intensity → perception." The scale and baseline model from Study 1 provide methodological support for subsequent mechanism research. Study 2, based on embodied cognition theory, focuses on the individual level to examine how ritual perception influences intention to extend stay, revealing the parallel mediating effects of situational involvement and meaning construction on stay intention, and identifying the moderating role of participation mode (participation/observation). Study 3 applies tourism authenticity theory, focusing on the place level to explore how ritual perception influences destination identity and stay intention through shaping authenticity experiences, and tests the non-linear moderating effect of cultural distance. Study 4, based on emotional solidarity theory, focuses on the group level to compare path differences of "ritual perception → emotional solidarity → stay intention" under different ritual types, and examines the moderating role of identity to deepen understanding of group emotional dynamics.

3.1 Study 1: Connotation, Measurement, and Nomological Network of Tourist Ritual Perception from a Process Perspective

This study first systematically explains the connotation of tourist ritual perception from a "process perspective." It will strictly follow psychological scale construction procedures—conceptual definition, item generation, expert review, pre-testing, etc.—to construct and validate the "Tourist Ritual Perception Scale." Based on this, the study selects theoretically relevant antecedent and outcome variables to construct a nomological network (see Figure 2 [FIGURE:2]) to clarify the characteristics of the new concept (Hinkin, 1998).

Figure 2 Nomological Network Model of Tourist Ritual Perception

3.1.1 Connotation of Tourist Ritual Perception

Focusing on the individual level, this study defines tourist ritual perception as: the phased psychological process in which tourists, based on their unique cognitive schemas, emotional states, cultural backgrounds, and immediate experiences, interpret, evaluate, and assign meaning to tourist ritual scenes (such as physical environment, atmosphere) and processes (such as symbol presentation, script performance). This definition reflects the following characteristics: ① Contextuality: Tourist perception is always rooted in specific cultural and spatial contexts; ② Interactivity: Perception is generated through interactions between tourists and other participants, the physical environment, and symbolic systems; ③ Emotionality: Emotional arousal and energy accumulation are key mechanisms driving ritual influence; ④ Processuality: Perception evolves over time, initially focusing on environmental atmosphere, then concentrating on symbol decoding and emotional resonance during deep interaction, and finally completing meaning construction during the integration phase. Focusing on this process perspective helps more precisely reveal the mechanisms through which tourist rituals shape visitor experiences, providing theoretical support for destinations to optimize ritual experience design.

3.1.2 Scale Development for Tourist Ritual Perception

This study strictly follows scale development norms (Churchill, 1979; Hinkin, 1998) to construct a tourist ritual perception scale focused on "design effectiveness evaluation." Given that ritual design characteristics (such as symbol arrangement, process architecture) constitute the object of perception, this study establishes "business ritual design" as the logical benchmark for perception measurement. The specific operational process is as follows: First, extract design characteristic dimensions based on tripartite interview data to distill core dimensions of ritual design characteristics (context/symbol/process design). Second, operationalize antecedent variables by converting the above dimensions into the antecedent variable—"ritual design characteristic intensity"—to measure the objective existence of key design characteristics (e.g., "whether it includes a clear opening segment") and the performance intensity of characteristics (e.g., "the systematic degree of symbolic cultural display"). Third, use this variable as the stimulus anchor for the "tourist ritual perception" scale to ensure subsequent perception evaluations target specific design objects.

Based on the conceptual uniqueness of "tourist ritual perception" established in Section 2.2, combined with the scale design implications from Table 1, this study adopts a "supply-demand" dual-perspective integration strategy: it systematically maps objective dimensions of supply-side design characteristics while precisely capturing demand-side perception evaluations of design effectiveness, thereby breaking through static measurement limitations and deconstructing the perception black box. Therefore, in conceptual structure and item development, it integrates both inductive and deductive perspectives:

First, conduct in-depth interviews with three stakeholder groups—managers, planners, and tourists (see Table 2 [TABLE:2])—supplemented by online travelogues and open-ended questionnaire data, applying grounded theory to distill design dimensions from the bottom up. Then, through triangulation, have the supply side (managers/planners) parse design element logic and the demand side (tourists) locate perception focus pathways, ultimately constructing a "design dimension → perception evaluation" mapping framework that portrays cultural negotiation processes. Simultaneously, adjust scale items to align with design effectiveness evaluation goals.

Table 2 Tripartite Interview Questions and Objectives

Interviewee Core Questions Objectives Destination Managers ① What is the strategic positioning of tourist rituals? ② What are the core criteria for successful tourist rituals? ③ How to balance cultural authenticity and ritual attractiveness? Extract design goals and dimensions Ritual Planners ① What are the core design processes and elements of tourist rituals? ② What are the design strategies for ritual opening, climax, and conclusion? ③ What are the ritual's symbol, narrative, and emotion mobilization strategies? Deconstruct design elements and logic Tourists ① Which ritual segments/elements reflect "elaborate design"? ② How do these designs affect your cognition/emotion? ③ How do you understand the designers' intentions? Locate perception focus, decoding pathways, and cultural negotiation mechanisms

To capture the phased evolution patterns of perception, this study adopts the "retrospective event diary method" (Churchill, 1979). Respondents are required to report, in one session after the ritual, their perceptions and evaluations across three phases according to ritual progression, for example: "Initial Contact Phase: The lighting gradient design effectively guided my focus to the ritual theme; Deep Interaction Phase: The collective cheering design triggered strong emotional resonance..." This method overcomes the spatiotemporal limitations of traditional fixed measurements and systematically tracks perception evolution trajectories. Based on multi-source data integration, this study preliminarily constructs the dimensional system and measurement items for tourist ritual perception (see Table 3 [TABLE:3]):

Table 3 Dimensions and Sample Items of Tourist Ritual Perception

The most memorable/recent tourist ritual I experienced...

Symbolic Design Perception
1. The design of symbols in the ritual (such as props/costumes) made me feel the unique charm of local culture.
2. The unique design of symbols and narrative helped me understand its local connotations.

Process Design Perception
1. The ritual's process design naturally propelled me to participate in key actions (such as following dances/chants).
2. The segment transition design made the experience coherent without a sense of rupture.

Meaning Construction Perception
1. The overall ritual design prompted me to reflect on my relationship with local culture.
2. At the ritual's conclusion, I felt I had gained deeper understanding of the cultural spirit it contained.

Note: The scale will be further refined, revised, and improved in subsequent work.

This scale strictly follows methodological individualism principles, focusing on individual tourists' subjective experiences and symbolic decoding processes: all items require respondents to report personal subjective feelings, evaluations, and cognitions. It explicitly excludes group consensus statements (e.g., "Everyone thinks..."); data originate from individual self-reports, with statistical analyses strictly limited to the individual level. In data collection, questionnaires are completed in one session after rituals to avoid process interference, with method adaptation according to research contexts—for example, in Study 2, an embedded scenario experiment is planned to balance ecological validity and rigor: through group manipulation, set up a participation group (performing) and an observation group (watching) to test participation mode effects; for quality control, embed attention filter questions (e.g., "Did you actively follow ritual actions?") to enhance response validity.

3.1.3 Nomological Network of Tourist Ritual Perception

As mentioned above, this study introduces the independent variable "ritual design characteristic intensity" to measure the objective existence, implementation clarity, or performance distinctiveness of key design characteristics (such as opening segments, symbol systems, process rhythm) in target rituals. Through tourists' decoding and evaluation of tourist ritual design effectiveness, their ritual perception is stimulated, ultimately driving changes in outcome variables.

According to the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework (Russell & Mehrabian, 1974), elaborately designed ritual characteristics (such as context, symbols, process) constitute key environmental stimuli (S). Existing research confirms that such physical environment design is a critical cue shaping user experience (Bitner, 1992). The intensity of these stimuli directly influences tourists' internal cognitive and emotional states (O) regarding the environment. Specifically, higher-intensity design characteristics (such as more explicit ritual opening atmosphere creation, more systematic symbolic cultural display, smoother ritual process rhythm) can provide richer and more consistent environmental cues, reduce cognitive load, and thereby promote more effective information processing, symbol decoding, and emotional arousal, ultimately positively influencing their overall evaluation of ritual design effectiveness—that is, tourist ritual perception (O). Therefore, we propose:

Proposition 1-1: Ritual design characteristic intensity positively influences tourist ritual perception.

Tourist rituals construct cultural interaction carriers through symbolic situational design (Bai Shizhen et al., 2021). Tourists initiate dual processing through ritual perception: at the cognitive level, perception triggers symbol decoding (such as understanding sacrificial prop symbolism), promoting cognitive schema updating; at the emotional level, perception stimulates emotional resonance (such as collective excitement), inducing flow states (Csikszentmihalyi, 2013). These two pathways collaboratively promote cultural meaning reconstruction (Liu Jiaying, 2023). According to cognitive appraisal theory (Lazarus, 1991), tourist ritual perception enhances cognitive level through promoting meaning analysis and facilitates flow experience through emotional integration. Therefore:

Proposition 1-2: Tourist ritual perception positively influences cognitive enhancement.
Proposition 1-3: Tourist ritual perception positively influences flow experience.

According to cultural capital theory (Lareau & Weininger, 2003), tourists with high cultural capital possess stronger symbol decoding abilities, can more efficiently extract cultural metaphors in design (such as identifying totem symbolism), thereby amplifying the driving effect of design characteristics on perception; conversely, those with low cultural capital may weaken this pathway due to decoding failure. Therefore:

Proposition 1-4: Tourists' cultural capital positively moderates the effect of ritual design characteristic intensity on tourist ritual perception; that is, the higher the cultural capital, the stronger the positive relationship between ritual design characteristic intensity and tourist ritual perception.

3.2 Study 2: Observe or Participate? How Participation Mode and Tourist Ritual Perception Influence Intention to Extend Stay

Study 2 focuses on the individual level, analyzing how tourist ritual perception drives intention to extend stay by shaping embodied cognition and emotional states based on embodied cognition theory, and examines the moderating effect of participation mode (participation/observation) in the "perception → embodied state" pathway, thereby deepening understanding of micro-level behavior transformation mechanisms. The theoretical model is shown in Figure 3 [FIGURE:3].

Figure 3 Model of Participation Mode's Effect on Tourist Ritual Perception

3.2.1 Tourist Ritual Perception, Situational Involvement, and Meaning Construction

As a concrete carrier for tourists to perceive destination culture, tourist rituals satisfy tourists' needs for atmosphere and order through proceduralized situations and actions. Ritualized actions can produce control compensation effects, attracting tourists to focus attention on ritual situations and actions, thereby unconsciously integrating into them (Xue Haibo, 2015). Moreover, the fixed steps and controllable behavioral patterns of rituals provide tourists with "achievable" and "controllable" task cues, enhancing participation and immersion (Ran Yaxuan et al., 2018). In public festival rituals, positive emotions spread among participants, and this emotional sharing further prompts tourists to integrate into ritual situations, enhancing their pleasure, specialness, and sense of meaning.

As a carrier of situations and symbols, tourist rituals shorten the distance between tourists and destination culture by conveying symbols of spirit, culture, and values (Xue Haibo, 2015). Ritual symbols and processes not only affect participants' interpersonal interactions and participation levels but also deepen their perception of the ritual environment (Shi et al., 2022). For example, in the Yi Torch Festival, on-site rituals not only demonstrate how Yi people celebrate festivals but also convey their unique cultural values, thereby promoting tourists' deep perception of ritual meaning.

Therefore, based on embodied theory and emotional perception theory, this study proposes:

Proposition 2-1: Tourist ritual perception has a positive effect on situational involvement.
Proposition 2-2: Tourist ritual perception has a positive effect on meaning construction.

3.2.2 Mediating Role of Situational Involvement

According to social exchange theory, individuals make corresponding behaviors based on reciprocity principles after evaluating whether the other party can create value for them. In tourism contexts, situational involvement, as a positive emotional resource triggered by tourists' deep participation, can serve as an exchange object in the tourist-destination relationship, influencing their psychological state and prompting different behaviors. Interaction theory further points out that situational involvement originates from the dynamic process of individual-environment interaction and is a positive experience stimulated by concentrating attention on current interactions. When individuals' skills match current actions and personal goals align with situational conditions, situational involvement is more likely to occur (Csikszentmihalyi, 2013). Research shows that tourists' deep participation and situational involvement can significantly enhance their experience value, thereby prompting them to reciprocate through positive behaviors such as sharing (Lu Junyang, 2021).

Based on the above analysis, this study proposes:

Proposition 2-3: Tourist situational involvement mediates the relationship between tourist ritual perception and intention to extend stay.

3.2.3 Mediating Role of Meaning Construction

As a core carrier of cultural tradition, ritual provides participants with unique meaning construction opportunities through elaborately designed performances and symbolic elements (Hobson, 2017). Individuals assign special meaning to rituals by perceiving symbols, actions, and processes, thereby constructing understanding of culture. Due to the causal ambiguity of rituals, individuals are more inclined to rely on perceptual information for meaning construction. Research shows that rituals can significantly enhance individuals' sense of meaning in both work and consumption contexts (Kim et al., 2021), and this sense of meaning further influences their perception and behavioral intention.

In tourism contexts, rituals become symbolic expressions of culture and values through destinations' unique art, festival, and order designs (Lu et al., 2024). Recent studies show that tourist rituals can not only enhance tourists' cultural identity (Zhang et al., 2019) but also improve their tourism experience value through emotional arousal and meaning construction (Li et al., 2023). For example, Zhang et al. (2019) found that tourists participating in local festival rituals are more likely to develop emotional attachment to destinations, thereby extending stay duration. Additionally, Li et al. (2023) pointed out that symbolic interaction and collective participation in tourist rituals can significantly promote tourists' meaning construction process, thereby influencing their behavioral intention. Based on this, we propose:

Proposition 2-4: Tourists' meaning construction mediates the relationship between ritual perception and intention to extend stay.

3.2.4 Moderating Role of Participation Mode

Tourists typically participate in tourist rituals through two modes: participation and observation. Research shows that participating in rituals can significantly enhance participants' sense of control (Tian et al., 2018), self-efficacy (Brooks et al., 2016), and pleasure (Vohs et al., 2013). However, the two participation modes may have significant differences in tourists' perception and its effect on experience value (Li et al., 2023).

For the participation mode, tourists are usually located at the center or core area of the ritual with higher participation levels. This deep participation not only helps enhance situational involvement but also produces control compensation effects through ritual proceduralization, patterning, and repetitive actions (Tian et al., 2018), thereby promoting meaning construction. Specifically, participatory tourists can more deeply perceive the cultural connotations of rituals through physical actions, emotional investment, and symbolic interaction, thereby stimulating stronger situational involvement and more profound meaning construction experiences (Li et al., 2023). Moreover, tourists in participation mode can often enhance identification with destination culture through role-playing and collective interaction in rituals, thereby further improving their experience value (Zhang et al., 2019).

In contrast, tourists in observation mode are mainly located at the periphery of the ritual and need to actively integrate into the ritual situation. Due to the lack of direct physical participation, observers' situational involvement is usually lower, relying more on the ritual's own attractiveness and external performance (Li et al., 2023). Additionally, since observers do not directly participate in ritual actions and performances, their meaning construction of rituals may be more marginal, making it difficult to achieve the depth of participatory tourists. Based on the above analysis, this study proposes:

Proposition 2-5a: Participation mode moderates the relationship between tourist ritual perception and situational involvement. Specifically, when participation mode is participatory, tourist ritual perception significantly enhances situational involvement; when participation mode is observational, this effect is significantly weakened.

Proposition 2-5b: Participation mode moderates the relationship between tourist ritual perception and meaning construction. Specifically, when participation mode is participatory, tourist ritual perception significantly enhances meaning construction; when participation mode is observational, this effect is significantly weakened.

3.3 Study 3: The More Authentic the Ritual Experience, the Stronger Tourists' Intention to Extend Stay? The Non-Linear Moderation of Cultural Distance

Study 3 builds an integrated model at the place level based on tourism authenticity theory (Cohen, 1988) and cultural distance theory. Authenticity theory explains tourists' core demand for "authentic symbols and meanings," while cultural distance theory parses the differential mechanisms of cross-cultural perception. This section focuses on how ritual perception drives intention to extend stay through authenticity experiences and destination identity, and identifies the moderating role of cultural distance in the transmission path. The theoretical model is shown in Figure 4 [FIGURE:4].

Figure 4 Model of Cultural Distance and Tourist Ritual Perception Effects on Intention to Extend Stay

3.3.1 Tourist Ritual Perception, Constructivist Authenticity, and Existential Authenticity

In cultural tourism contexts, authenticity experience is a crucial core demand for tourists (Chen Ruixia & Zhou Zhimin, 2018), whose essence can be deconstructed into object-oriented constructivist authenticity and subject-oriented existential authenticity (Zhou Yaqing et al., 2007). The former emphasizes value judgments on the historicity and cultural nature of tourism objects (such as rituals) through symbolic interpretation and social interaction (Cohen, 1988); the latter focuses on tourists' self-reconstruction and emotional sublimation by breaking away from daily life frameworks during participation (Wang, 2000). As a concrete carrier of destination culture (Lu et al., 2024), tourist rituals provide dual authenticity experience generation pathways through symbolic representation systems (such as costumes, actions, language) and situational immersion design (such as festival atmosphere, collective interaction).

Constructivist authenticity formation depends on tourists' cognitive decoding and cultural anchoring of ritual symbols (Cohen, 1988). When tourist rituals construct their legitimacy through historical tracing (such as traditional festival restoration) or authoritative certification (such as intangible cultural heritage), tourists can connect ritual actions with local cultural meanings based on symbolic interaction. For example, Lu et al. (2024) found that traditional artifacts used in rituals (such as sacrificial props) and proceduralized actions (such as dance choreography) can significantly enhance tourists' perception of cultural authenticity. This perception is essentially a social construction process whose evaluation criteria dynamically evolve with tourists' knowledge backgrounds and cultural reference systems (Cohen, 1988). Thus, tourists can generate constructivist authenticity through ritual symbols and cultural drivers.

Existential authenticity realization is closely related to tourists' embodied participation (Wang, 2000). In ritual situations, tourists' physical actions (such as dancing, sacrificing), emotional resonance (such as collective excitement), and temporal-spatial detachment (such as breaking away from daily roles) jointly constitute "liminal experiences," prompting them to enter a state of "authentic self" (Turner, 1969). For example, pilgrimage treks in religious rituals produce self-reflection beyond daily life through physical discipline and mental concentration. This experience does not depend on the objective authenticity of objects but originates from the subject's self-empowerment and existential awakening during participation.

Based on the above theoretical dialogue, this study proposes:

Proposition 3-1: Tourist ritual perception positively influences constructivist authenticity.
Proposition 3-2: Tourist ritual perception positively influences existential authenticity.

3.3.2 Chain Mediating Role of Constructivist Authenticity and Destination Identity

According to tourism authenticity theory, authenticity is an important criterion for measuring tourist experience value, especially in cultural tourism (Wang, 2000). Tourists feel "genuine" local characteristics by perceiving authentic art and culture embodied in destination carriers (such as tourist rituals), a process that satisfies tourists' needs for local cultural authenticity and constructivist authentic experiences (Chen Ruixia & Zhou Zhimin, 2018). Constructivist authenticity emphasizes tourists' subjective interpretation and meaning construction of cultural symbols, a process that not only enhances tourists' perception of destination cultural authenticity but also further stimulates their emotional responses. According to emotion theory, when individuals' needs are satisfied, positive emotions are generated, which in turn stimulate positive behavioral tendencies, such as identifying with the destination and developing intention to extend stay.

Existing research confirms that tourists' authenticity perception has a significant positive impact on destination loyalty (Zhou et al., 2013), with destination identity playing a key mediating role in this process. Specifically, when tourists' constructivist authenticity needs are satisfied during tourist ritual perception, their identification with the destination is enhanced, thereby positively influencing their intention to extend stay. Based on the above theoretical deduction, this study proposes:

Proposition 3-3: Constructivist authenticity influences intention to extend stay through the mediating role of destination identity.

3.3.3 Chain Mediating Role of Existential Authenticity and Destination Identity

According to Self-Congruity Theory, when tourists perceive high overlap between the "real place" and the "imagined place," they show stronger destination identity and further influence their behavioral intention (Zhang et al., 2019). During tourist ritual participation, tourists temporarily break away from daily life constraints and immerse themselves in the meaning of travel through interaction with tourism situations (Chen Ruixia & Zhou Zhimin, 2018). This process enables tourists to experience existential authenticity—that is, achieving self-discovery, free expression, and emotional sharing through travel.

Existential authenticity emphasizes tourists' exploration of self-essence and experience of authentic emotions during travel, which can significantly enhance their psychological attachment and sense of belonging to the destination (Li Hao et al., 2023). Research shows that existential authenticity has a positive impact on destination loyalty, with place identity being an important antecedent of destination loyalty (Zhou et al., 2013). Moreover, tourists' word-of-mouth recommendation intention, as an important manifestation of destination loyalty, further verifies the close connection between existential authenticity and destination identity. Although Zhou et al. (2013) pointed out differences in effect between constructivist authenticity and existential authenticity, academia generally recognizes the positive role of authentic tourism experiences on tourist behavioral intention.

Therefore, this study proposes:

Proposition 3-4: Tourists' existential authenticity and destination identity have a chain mediating effect between tourist ritual perception and intention to extend stay.

3.3.4 Non-Linear Moderating Role of Cultural Distance

The moderating mechanism of cultural distance on tourism experience is essentially a dynamic process of cognitive resource allocation (Peng Dan, 2005). When cultural differences are moderate, they can stimulate tourists' exploratory desire and reconstruct meaning networks through embodied practice. However, exceeding cognitive load thresholds, anxiety triggered by information overload will activate psychological defense (Schnotz & Kürschner, 2007), weakening authenticity experiences (Yu et al., 2020). In ritual contexts, this non-linear effect is particularly evident—as the "key" to cultural decoding (Turner, 1969), ritual's symbolic meaning deciphering efficiency depends on the match between cultural distance and cognitive schemas (Peng Dan, 2005).

Specifically, according to "optimal stimulation level theory," moderate cultural differences can stimulate tourists' cognitive exploration of ritual symbols, promoting constructivist authenticity formation (Cohen, 1988). When cultural distance is below a critical value, tourists can effectively decode metaphorical meanings in rituals through cultural schemas (Peng Dan, 2005), enhancing identification with cultural product authenticity (Zhang & Smith, 2019). However, excessive cultural distance will exceed individuals' cognitive load thresholds (Schnotz & Kürschner, 2007), leading to symbol interpretation failure and weakened authenticity perception. This mechanism aligns with the inverted U-shaped curve of "complexity-pleasure."

Based on the above theoretical background, this study proposes:

Proposition 3-5: Cultural distance shows a significant inverted U-shaped moderating effect on the relationship between tourist ritual perception and constructivist authenticity. Specifically, when cultural distance is below a certain threshold, its increase strengthens the positive effect of ritual perception on constructivist authenticity; but when cultural distance exceeds a certain threshold, its further increase weakens this positive effect.

Existential authenticity emphasizes tourists' self-actualization state after breaking away from daily environments (Wang, 2000), and moderate cultural distance can enhance self-reflection and embodied experiences by creating "liminal spaces" (Turner, 1969). At this point, cultural differences serve as catalysts promoting deep interaction between tourists and ritual scenes. However, excessive cultural distance triggers cognitive dissonance, leading to activation of psychological defense mechanisms that hinder existential authenticity achievement. This process conforms to the chain reaction path of "stimulus-emotion-behavior" in emotion appraisal theory.

Based on the above analysis, this study proposes:

Proposition 3-6: Cultural distance has an inverted U-shaped moderating effect on the relationship between tourist ritual perception and existential authenticity. Within a certain threshold range, increased cultural distance strengthens the positive effect of ritual perception on existential authenticity; but when cultural distance breaks through a certain threshold, it weakens the positive effect.

3.4 Study 4: Which Ritual Type Is More Attractive to Tourists? The Influence of Ritual Type on Tourists' Intention to Extend Stay

Study 4 integrates Interaction Ritual Theory (Collins, 2004) and Emotional Solidarity Theory (Woosnam et al., 2009), focusing on group-level logic to reveal how tourists drive intention to extend stay by triggering emotional solidarity in ritual groups, and examines the boundary moderating effects of ritual type and identity. Its theoretical core is rooted in the temporary "experience community" constructed by rituals, which has three characteristics (Collins, 2004): symbolic consensus—forming common focus of attention (such as sacred object gazing, process following); emotional reciprocity—establishing strong emotional bonds (such as collective cheering, rhythmic dancing); and norm generation—internalizing shared behavioral norms (such as observing ritual etiquette). Through these three mechanisms, rituals serve as social integration media that condense discrete individuals, driving individual behavior transformation toward community identity. The theoretical model is shown in Figure 5 [FIGURE:5].

Figure 5 Moderating Effect Model of Ritual Type and Identity

3.4.1 Tourist Ritual Perception and Group Emotional Solidarity

Emotional solidarity refers to group identity and emotional attachment formed by individuals through continuous interaction (Woosnam et al., 2009). In the special liminal space of tourist rituals (Turner, 1969), participants construct interactive fields beyond daily life through shared ritual practices. Based on Durkheim's collective effervescence theory, tourist rituals reconstruct group relationships through three-dimensional mechanisms: first, the symbolic presentation of physical scenes, including concrete cultural representations such as sacred space layout and ritual artifact display; second, programmed interaction guided by ritual scripts (Goffman, 2017), forming standardized behavioral frameworks; and third, collective consciousness generated by situational co-presence (Collins, 2004), strengthening group identity through synchronized actions and emotional resonance. This multi-dimensional ritual participation mechanism helps dissolve social distance between tourists and hosts, prompting them to form temporary "insider" identity.

Existing research shows that ritual participation intensity and emotional solidarity level present significant positive correlations (Joo et al., 2023). Specifically, ritual-specific cultural codes strengthen cognitive consensus through shared decoding of symbolic symbols, and programmed interaction enhances relationship intimacy, promoting emotional integration.

Based on this, this study proposes:

Proposition 4-1: Tourist ritual perception positively influences emotional solidarity level.

3.4.2 Tourist Ritual Perception and Intention to Extend Stay

Based on the bidirectional transmission model of emotional contagion theory, tourist rituals can influence behavioral intention through dual mechanisms of emotional arousal and meaning construction. From a micro-genesis mechanism perspective, multi-modal stimuli in ritual environments—including ritual music (acoustic dimension), sacred object display (visual dimension), incense rituals (olfactory dimension), etc.—trigger tourists' immersive experiences through synaesthesia (Hudson et al., 2019). This multi-sensory synergistic effect prompts emotional arousal and cognitive processing to form synergistic effects, ultimately translating into behavioral intention to extend stay.

Specific situational experiment results show that for every 1-unit increase in ritual participants' emotional energy, the probability of stay duration extension increases by 23% (Hansen & Mossberg, 2013). This transformation effect mainly originates from: the metaphorical value of ritual symbols enhances cultural identity, programmed interaction enhances psychological ownership, and liminal experiences reconstruct time perception. Therefore:

Proposition 4-2: Tourist ritual perception positively influences intention to extend stay.

3.4.3 Mediating Role of Emotional Solidarity

Social ritual theory founder Durkheim (1912) discovered that collective rituals can construct "collective effervescence" through symbolic interaction, transforming this emotional energy into moral obligations and identity among group members. In tourism contexts, this mechanism concretizes as tourists forming emotional bonds with destinations through ritual practice, an emotional attachment system containing three progressive dimensions: cognitive evaluation, emotional commitment, and behavioral loyalty (Lin et al., 2021).

Based on the emotional solidarity theoretical framework, successful tourist rituals must meet three core conditions: symbolic capital sharing, interaction rhythm synchronization, and emotional energy reciprocity (Collins, 2004). Empirical research shows that when hosts and guests in tourism fields achieve the above conditions through ritual performance, strong emotional solidarity connections will form, specifically manifested as: (1) strengthened group belonging; (2) internalized moral obligations; (3) sustained behavioral commitment. Notably, this emotional solidarity has significant temporal extensionality; Stylidis et al.'s (2020) longitudinal study confirmed that the revisit rate of the high emotional solidarity group was 2.3 times that of the control group over a 5-year observation period.

Regarding pathways, tourist rituals can influence intention to extend stay through dual mechanisms: first, embodied interaction in physical fields (such as ritual performance spaces, cultural symbol decoding) directly strengthens emotional identity; second, by constructing a social-psychological field of "we-ness," it forms sustained emotional commitment (Joo et al., 2023). This dual-pathway mediating effect has been verified in cross-cultural studies. Accordingly:

Proposition 4-3: Emotional solidarity has a mediating effect between tourist ritual perception and intention to extend stay.

3.4.4 Moderating Role of Ritual Type

Existing ritual types reflect differences in social relationships, manifested in group member types and group consciousness. Ritual classification varies by field (Lu Junyang, 2021; Stephenson, 2015). Ritual type can regulate the formation efficiency of emotional solidarity through participation intensity and cultural salience (Belk, 1988). Specifically, ritual type may moderate the influence of tourist ritual perception on emotional solidarity through three group logic mechanisms: for periodic rituals (such as traditional festivals/religious ceremonies), these have high cultural salience and stronger sacredness, more easily activating symbolic consensus and thereby strengthening collective meaning decoding; they may also enhance emotional synchronization efficiency through emotional reciprocity; and may promote behavioral synergy through norm generation, thereby significantly enhancing the transformation from ritual perception to emotional solidarity. In contrast, daily rituals (such as welcome performances/standardized shows) may weaken the effectiveness of the above three mechanisms due to repeated exposure and procedural replication (Goffman, 2017). Based on this, we propose:

Proposition 4-4: Ritual type has a significant moderating effect on the influence of tourist ritual perception on emotional solidarity; that is, different ritual types in tourism scenarios have varying influence degrees on the relationship between tourist ritual perception and emotional solidarity.

3.4.5 Moderating Effect of Identity

According to social identity theory, individuals have needs for group belonging (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Identity refers to individuals' emotional attachment to their groups, which not only influences attitudes but also guides behaviors and mitigates negative intentions. Individuals with high identity usually hold more positive attitudes toward groups (Zhang et al., 2019). "Shared beliefs," as the core mechanism of emotional solidarity, help understand psychological connections in religious rituals (Durkheim, 1912). In tourism contexts, research findings on the role of emotional solidarity between destination residents and tourists, the effect of tourist group identity on reducing uncivilized behaviors (Zhang et al., 2019), and the enhanced emotional solidarity of core anime fans due to self-identity (Tang et al., 2023) all confirm the moderating effect of identity.

As a high-level moderating variable, identity determines the critical point at which emotional experiences transform into specific behaviors. When tourists identify with the cultural archetype carried by rituals (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), emotional energy is more easily transformed into stay decisions; otherwise, cognitive resistance may affect behavior transformation. Based on this, we propose:

Proposition 4-5a: Identity significantly moderates the influence of tourist ritual perception on intention to extend stay: the stronger tourists' identity, the greater the effect of ritual perception on intention to extend stay.

Proposition 4-5b: Identity significantly moderates the mediating effect strength of emotional solidarity between tourist ritual perception and intention to extend stay: the stronger tourists' identity, the stronger the mediating effect of emotional solidarity.

4. Theoretical Construction

This study致力于overcoming the limitations of traditional tourist ritual research in process dynamics and supply-demand synergy (Lu et al., 2024; Bai Shizhen et al., 2021), constructing a "design-perception-behavior" cross-level framework. The core innovation of this framework is reflected in three aspects: first, developing process-based measurement tools to capture the phased evolution of tourist ritual perception; second, explaining cross-level influence mechanisms to parse the multiple pathways and boundary conditions through which perception drives behavior; third, providing theoretical foundations for practice optimization to facilitate the transformation of cultural tourism "traffic" into "retention."

First, this study achieves key breakthroughs in measurement tool development. Based on manager-planner-tourist triangulation data, it develops a three-phase scale of "initial contact phase—deep interaction phase—meaning integration phase." The innovation of this tool lies in: first, by mapping supply-side design characteristics to demand-side perception evaluation pathways, it effectively solves the "supply-demand disconnect" problem in previous research (e.g., Lu et al., 2024); second, by adopting segmented retrospective measurement methods, it systematically tracks perception evolution trajectories, breaking through the limitation of only measuring terminal static perception. This scale provides the first set of process-based measurement standards for tourist ritual perception research, and its embedded supply-demand synergy logic lays a solid measurement foundation for in-depth exploration of perception's phased evolution patterns and multi-level influences.

Second, this study constructs an "individual-place-group" three-level integrated model to systematically explore the multiple pathways and boundary conditions through which tourist ritual perception drives intention to extend stay, helping to remedy the fragmentation of single-level theoretical explanations. At the individual level, based on embodied cognition theory, this study explores the mechanism through which ritual perception influences intention to extend stay via dual pathways of meaning construction and situational involvement, and identifies the moderating effect of participation mode (observation/participation), deepening understanding of micro-level behavior transformation mechanisms. At the place level, based on tourism authenticity theory, this study analyzes the path through which ritual perception influences destination identity and intention to extend stay by shaping authenticity experiences; simultaneously, it explores the inverted U-shaped moderating effect of cultural distance in this pathway, providing critical threshold evidence for destination cultural resource adaptive management. At the group level, based on emotional solidarity theory, this study explains the transformation path through which ritual perception influences intention to extend stay by promoting emotional solidarity, by introducing the core logic of interaction ritual chains (symbolic consensus → emotional reciprocity → norm generation), and examines the moderating roles of ritual type and identity, deepening understanding of how micro-level interactions drive macro-level group effects in tourism. The above three-level mechanisms are interrelated, jointly constituting an integrated theoretical framework explaining how tourist rituals facilitate the transformation from "traffic" to "retention."

Third, the methods and tools proposed in this study also have cross-domain application potential. At the measurement tool level, the developed three-phase process scale of ritual perception can be applied in fields such as red education and intangible cultural heritage revitalization, for example, to track adolescents' emotional internalization trajectories in red study tour rituals, overcoming the process limitations of traditional measurement methods. At the theoretical explanation level, this study provides an explanatory framework for understanding emotional mobilization and cultural transmission in immersive performing arts. At the practical application level, this study has multiple application values: the inverted U-shaped effect of cultural distance provides scientific basis for differential threshold design in cross-cultural governance; the "symbolic consensus → emotional reciprocity → norm internalization" transmission chain at the group level can be used to strengthen emotional stickiness in festival tourism and community cohesion in online communities; the deconstruction of individual embodied experience mechanisms provides theoretical guidance for situational transformation design of study tour curricula and risk management in adventure tourism. In summary, this study advances tourist ritual perception research from static outcomes to process-based analysis, and its core results can provide theoretical support for cross-domain practices such as cultural-tourism integration, brand value shaping, and social-emotional governance.

Furthermore, this study provides a process-based guidance framework for destination managers in tourist ritual design. Managers can optimize the design of key links such as ritual context, symbols, and processes according to the perception evolution规律of "contact phase—interaction phase—integration phase." In cultural symbol presentation, they need to finely balance the abstract depth and cognitive accessibility to avoid homogenization risks and prevent cross-cultural cognitive overload, achieving scientific management of cultural experience depth and breadth. Most critically, this framework provides insights for managers to formulate targeted intervention strategies based on understanding the temporal phasing of ritual perception, core transmission mechanisms, and key boundary conditions (such as participation mode, cultural distance, ritual type). This provides empirical basis for destinations to rationally plan resource investment priorities and achieve precise allocation under limited resource constraints, helping to improve ritual experience design effectiveness and "retention" transformation efficiency.

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