Improper waste disposal of tourists has detrimental impacts on the environment, economy, and people in rural destinations. Separating at the source is an effective means to mitigate these adverse impacts on rural destinations. Hence, identifying factors influencing tourists’ waste sorting intentions in rural destinations is critical to the sustainability of rural tourism and rural land. However, few studies focus on tourists’ waste sorting intentions. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and social capital, this research examined the determinants of tourists’ waste sorting intentions in rural destinations. A total of 395 valid questionnaires were collected from a rural destination in Huzhou, China. The results indicated that: (1) all TPB variables, i.e., attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, positively and directly affect tourists’ waste sorting intentions; (2) interpersonal trust directly and positively influences tourists’ waste sorting intentions; (3) subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, interpersonal trust, and emotional bonding indirectly influence tourists’ waste sorting intentions through the mediation of attitude toward the behavior; (4) emotional bonding does not directly affect tourists’ waste sorting intentions, but the link is established through the mediation of attitude toward the behavior. This research expands the body of knowledge by integrating individuals’ psychological elements with their social contexts. The findings offer some theoretical and managerial implications for understanding how tourists’ social contexts facilitate tourists’ waste sorting intentions.

Waste sorting is a practical way of handling the garbage and an effective strategy for facilitating sustainable waste management. This research extended the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with self-identity and moral norms to predict waste sorting intentions in a heritage context of tourism. A total of 403 valid self-administrated questionnaires were achieved at a heritage destination in China. The results indicated that: (1) TPB variables (i.e., attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control), self-identity, and moral norms were all directly and positively linked to tourists’ waste sorting intentions, respectively; (2) self-identity indirectly influenced tourists’ waste sorting intentions through the mediation of moral norms; and (3) the integrated model exhibited better predictive utility than any single model. This research contributes to the literature on waste management in the context of tourism by extending TPB with identity and personal normative constructs. It also provides practical implications for destination managers to leverage tourists’ self-identity and moral norms for sustainable management.

Despite the lengthy history of the research on destination image from various perspectives, how pro-environmental destination image promotes resident environmental citizenship behavior remains underexplored. Grounded in the cognition–affect–behavior (CAB) model, this research investigated the translation of pro-environmental destination image into resident environmental citizenship behavior via satisfaction and pride. Data were collected using an intercept survey approach from a tourism village recognized as one of the best in the world by UNWTO. The results indicated that a pro-environmental destination image has a positive impact on resident environmental citizenship behavior in the private and public domains. Furthermore, resident satisfaction and pride serve as mediators between pro-environmental destination image and resident environmental citizenship behavior. This research contributes to the literature on resident environmental citizenship behavior by considering the role of pro-environmental destination image. The findings provide practical implications for fostering environmental citizenship behavior through the presentation of pro-environmental images to residents and eliciting their positive emotions.

Objective: Based on the PAD temperament model, this study aims to systematically reveal the influence path of living environment quality in traditional villages on residents’ cultural heritage responsibility behaviors, and verify the individual mediating effects and sequential mediating effect of place attachment and pride, so as to provide empirical support for the theoretical system of cultural heritage protection. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 425 residents from 4 traditional villages in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China to collect data. Core variables were measured using mature scales, and the reliability and validity of the scales were tested through a pilot survey (Cronbach’s α =0.958) and CFA. SEM was constructed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0, and the Bootstrap method was adopted to verify the mediating effects. Results: Living environment quality had no direct significant impact on cultural heritage responsibility behaviors ( β = −0.073, p > 0.05), but significantly positively predicted place attachment ( β = 0.958, p < 0.001) and pride ( β =0.765, p < 0.001). Both place attachment and pride significantly positively influenced cultural heritage responsibility behaviors ( β = 0.471, 0.455; both p < 0.001), and place attachment positively predicted pride ( β = 0.391, p < 0.001). The mediating effect test showed that the individual mediating effect of place attachment (Estimation=0.451, 95%CI = [0.240,0.687]), the individual mediating effect of pride (Estimation=0.348, 95%CI = [0.179,0.590]), and the sequential mediating effect (Estimation=0.171, 95%CI = [0.073,0.324]) were all significant, forming a complete mediation model. Conclusion: This study expands the application boundary of the PAD model in the field of cultural heritage protection in traditional villages, and clarifies the sequential mediating mechanism of “living environment quality → place attachment → pride → cultural heritage responsibility behaviors”. The research conclusions provide a scientific basis for the protection practice of traditional villages, and can indirectly promote the sustainable inheritance of cultural heritage by optimizing the living environment and cultivating residents’ emotional identification.