Abstract:

Amidst China’s national strategy for deep cultural-tourism integration, tourist rituals confront a critical paradox: despite their recognized dual function in cultural revitalization and visitor engagement, they consistently fail to convert transient visitation ("volume") into sustained destination loyalty ("retention"). This persistent dilemma originates from three fundamental limitations in extant scholarship: (1) a predominant static analytical perspective that neglects the phased, non-linear evolution of tourists’ ritual perception; (2) fragmented examinations of ritual impacts isolated at individual, place, or group levels, obscuring cross-level transmission mechanisms and synergistic effects; and (3) insufficient theoretical attention to key boundary conditions governing ritual efficacy across heterogeneous contexts. To address these interconnected gaps, this study pioneers an integrated "Design-Perception-Behavior" framework comprising four theoretically interlocked investigations.

Study 1 systematically develops the first Tourist Ritual Perception Scale (TRPS) grounded in a dynamic process perspective. Through rigorous tripartite data synthesis (ritual designers × destination managers × tourists) and innovative application of retrospective event diaries, TRPS captures perception evolution across three sequential, qualitatively distinct phases: 1) Initial Contact Phase: Centering on environmental immersion triggered by spatial layout, atmospheric cues, and opening rituals that facilitate psychological detachment from daily routines; 2) Deep Interaction Phase: Emphasizing symbolic decoding of cultural metaphors, procedural engagement with ritual scripts, and emotional synchronization with collective rhythms; 3) Meaning Integration Phase: Focusing on cognitive-emotional synthesis, cultural sense-making, and post-experience reflection that transforms ephemeral encounters into enduring meaning.

This measurement instrument fundamentally bridges the "supply-demand misalignment" by establishing ritual design characteristics—operationalized as contextual (setting/scenography), symbolic (iconography/narratives), and procedural (choreography/rhythm) dimensions—as core antecedent stimuli, while theorizing tourists’ cultural capital as a critical moderating filter shaping perception formation.

Study 2 (individual level), anchored in embodied cognition theory, theorizes dual parallel mediation pathways through which ritual perception enhances Intention to Extend Stay: 1) Situational involvement (heightened attentional focus and deep emotional absorption in the ritual present); 2) Meaning construction (active symbolic interpretation, cultural reframing, and personal relevance attribution). It further examines participation mode (participatory enactment vs. observational contemplation) as a pivotal moderator that differentially shapes the intensity and valence of these pathways, with participatory modes predicted to amplify embodied effects through kinesthetic engagement.

Study 3 (place level) integrates authenticity theory to model ritual perception’s influence on retention through two complementary causal chains: 1) Constructive authenticity pathway: Ritual as staged cultural representation → Cognitive appraisal of symbolic fidelity → Place identity internalization → Behavioral commitment; 2) Existential authenticity pathway: Ritual as liminal space for self-actualization → Affective experience of autonomous being → Place identity internalization → Behavioral commitment. The study’s core theoretical proposition examines cultural distance’s nonlinear moderation effect (conceptualized as an inverted U-shape) on the ritual perception-authenticity linkage, positing optimal effects at moderate cultural differences where novelty stimulates engagement without overwhelming cognitive schemas.

Study 4 (group level), grounded in interaction ritual chain theory, conceptualizes the transformation of ritual perception into retention through: Ritual-perceived emotional energy → Emotional solidarity (emergent collective identity, affective bonds, and shared moral obligations) → Enhanced retention intention. It further theorizes critical contingency roles of ritual type (distinguishing periodic sacred ceremonies from quotidian performances) and identity congruence (tourists’ psychological/cultural alignment with ritual meanings), which may strengthen or weaken the emotional transmission process.

Collectively, these studies constitute a Multilevel Process Model that advances three transformative theoretical contributions: 1) Temporality Integration: TRPS resolves the "process black box" by enabling granular tracking of perception evolution across ritual stages, overcoming static approaches’ inability to explain intra-ritual variance and delayed effects. 2) Cross-Level Synergy Framework: The model elucidates how micro-level embodied experiences (individual), meso-level authenticity negotiations (place), and macro-level emotional solidarity (group) interact dialectically—with effects potentially amplifying or constraining each other—to co-determine retention outcomes. 3) Contingency Systemization: It synthesizes five key moderators—cultural capital, participation mode, cultural distance, ritual typology, identity congruence—into a unified boundary condition framework that explains divergent ritual efficacy across contexts, providing crucial theoretical scaffolding for context-sensitive design.

Practically, this research generates actionable pathways for destination governance: 1) Phase-Specific Design Optimization: Targeted interventions aligned with perceptual stages (e.g., enhancing symbolic legibility during Deep Interaction); 2) Resource Prioritization Matrix: Evidence-based allocation toward high-leverage design dimensions (symbolic systems > procedural elements); 3) Cultural Calibration Protocol: Strategic management of cultural distance through tiered interpretation systems; 4) Participatory Engineering Toolkit: Modular tactics to maximize engagement through mode-selective facilitation.

By bridging design science, cognitive psychology, and sociological ritual theory, this study establishes the first integrated framework to transform ritual experiences from ephemeral encounters into sustained retention drivers. The TRPS instrument and multilevel model offer foundational tools for advancing scholarly and practical frontiers in cultural-tourism integration globally.

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