While protective measures in response to infectious diseases may reduce the freedom of tourists (regarding their behaviors), few studies have documented the effects of destination protective measures on the self-protective behaviors of tourists. By applying the protection motivation theory, this study examines the effects of perceived destination protective supports on the social distancing intentions of tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results reveal significant relationships among perceived destination support, coping appraisal, threat appraisal, and the social distancing intentions of tourists. Moreover, two cognitive appraisals—toward the pandemic—partially mediate the relationship between perceived destination support and social distancing intention, and this mediational process is ‘intervened’ with by social norms. This has implications on whether tourist destinations apply more rigorous social distancing polices during the COVID-19 pandemic, to enhance the coping confidence behaviors of tourists, without causing anxiety and fear, and to achieve the goal of enhancing tourists’ intentions to protect themselves.

The role of heritage interpretation in cultural inheritance is increasingly recognized, yet how different types of heritage anthropomorphic interpretation affect tourists’ cultural inheritance intention remains unclear. Based on four experiments, this study explores the effects of heritage anthropomorphic interpretation (imagery, verbal, and integrated) on tourists’ cultural inheritance intention. Our findings include: (1) Heritage anthropomorphic interpretation enhances cultural inheritance intention, with the integrated type outperforming the imagery type, but not the verbal type. (2) Cultural involvement mediates the relationship between heritage anthropomorphic interpretation and cultural inheritance intention. (3) Situational awe moderates this relationship—under low awe, the imagery type is more effective than other types, whereas no significant differences emerge under high awe. This study introduces an anthropomorphic perspective to heritage interpretation and identifies the impacts of differentiated interpretation types on cultural inheritance intention. It extends dual coding and meaning transfer theories and contributes to effective interpretation design strategies.

The evaluation of post-disaster restoration in World Natural Heritage sites often triggers debates over how authenticity should be understood and assessed after substantial intervention. This dilemma stems from the epistemological divergence between restoration ecology and heritage studies. While the former focuses on material attributes such as natural and historical authenticity, the latter emphasizes social construction. Consequently, existing theories struggle to explain how visitors judge authenticity in substantially restored natural heritage settings. To bridge this gap, this study draws on the social construction of nature theory to propose the Constructivist Nature Authenticity (CNA) framework. Adopting a mixed-methods approach with post-earthquake Jiuzhaigou as a case study, this study developed and validated a six-dimensional scale of CNA. This framework integrates material foundations (natural, historical, and setting authenticity) with social constructions (material construction, discourse construction, and experience construction authenticity). Furthermore, Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) was employed to identify four configurational paths associated with high place attachment. Beyond confirming the traditional naturalism-dominated path, the study also uncovers configurations in which constructive dimensions can partially compensate for relatively weaker material conditions under specific circumstances. Crucially, a unique post-pristine narrative path is identified, suggesting that high place attachment may still correspond to configurations in which natural authenticity is relatively weaker, provided that historical continuity, setting authenticity, and constructive dimensions remain strong. This study offers a more differentiated framework for understanding visitor-perceived authenticity in restored natural heritage. It demonstrates that different restoration orientations may be associated with high place attachment when materially grounded and constructive dimensions are appropriately configured, thereby contributing to discussions of value pluralism in heritage management.