From appraisal to word-of-mouth: affective pathways through awe and restoration in high-altitude ecocultural tourism using a mixed-methods design

Introduction High-altitude ecocultural destinations combine natural grandeur with layered cultural meaning, yet the affective pathways linking tourists’ appraisals to word-of-mouth intention remain underspecified. This study specifies discrete-emotion mechanisms and their ordering within an appraisal–emotion–behavior chain, grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) paradigm. Methods A two-phase, text-driven design was implemented. Phase I applied semantic modeling to 23,289 user-generated reviews to derive indicators of three appraisal cues (place identification, perceived cultural heterogeneity, perceived ecological authenticity) as well as awe, restorative experience, and word-of-mouth intention. Phase II tested a theory-driven S–O–R structural equation model on an independent multi-site tourist survey ( n = 439) from ten destinations on the Northwestern Sichuan Plateau using PLS-SEM with bootstrapped mediation. Results The hypothesized dual-pathway architecture was supported. Place identification positively affected awe, whereas perceived cultural heterogeneity and perceived ecological authenticity positively affected restorative experience. Awe preceded and strengthened restoration, and both mediators positively affected word-of-mouth intention. Mediation analyses substantiated appraisal-to-intention transmission via awe for place identification and via restoration for cultural heterogeneity and ecological authenticity, as well as a sequential mediation from awe through restoration to intention. Discussion Findings advance appraisal and broaden-and-build accounts by showing that positive affect in nature–culture contexts is not generic but functionally differentiated and ordered. Practically, destination design and interpretation should enhance symbolic elevation to elicit awe and strengthen ecocultural coherence to support restoration—for example through curated viewframes, respectful ritual and vernacular cues, and protected quiet and dark-sky corridors—thereby increasing recommendation intentions while preserving cultural and ecological authenticity.