Tourism development is an effective way to protect intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Research on the relationship between these two factors and related issues is of great significance to promoting the sustainable development of ICH. Based on literatures collected from the CNKI database (381 articles) and the Web of Science core collection (545 articles), this study used CiteSpace analysis software to analyze the published volume of ICH tourism research and extract hot keywords and hotspot research topics. Results showed that the number of articles published in Chinese and foreign journals had three stages, namely, steady development, rapid growth, and fluctuating decline. Judging from the research keywords, “cultural tourism”, “authenticity”, “sustainable development” and “protection (or conservation)” are common topics at home and abroad, whereas “loyalty”, “motivation” “conservation” and “quality” are the emerging keywords of foreign journals in recent years. In terms of content, research on the relationship between ICH protection and tourism development, research on the development model, and stakeholder research in tourism development are the focus of Chinese academic circles. This study systematically summarizes the ICH tourism research under different cultural backgrounds and proposes suggestions for the future development of ICH tourism in China.

Travel reservation is an important way to improve tourist experiences and digitally manage tourist attractions in the COVID-19 context. However, few studies have focused on the online reservation intentions of tourist attractions and its influencing factors. Based on the theory of the technology acceptance model (TAM), two variables (perceived risk and government policy) are introduced to expand on the theoretical model. This study investigates the influence of subjective norms, government policy, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived risk on reservation intentions of tourist attractions. An online survey was conducted in China, and 255 questionnaires were collected. The data were analysed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 28.0 to construct a structural equation modelling and analyse the path. The findings show that (1) subjective norms have no significant impact on reservation behaviours under voluntary situations; (2) perceived usefulness positively affects tourists’ reservation intention; and (3) perceived risk has a significant negative impact on reservation intention, and government policy is the main factor affecting tourists’ reservation intentions. These findings enhance the understanding of tourists’ reservation intentions and extend the TAM theory. From the practice perspective, tourist attraction operators should continue to strengthen the construction of the reservation system, improve tourists’ experiences, reduce the perceived risk of tourists, and other stakeholders such as the government should strengthen cooperation, promote the reservation system, and create a good reservation atmosphere.

The elite group is an essential force in rural space production, which plays a non-negligible role in rural development. Amid the backdrop of the rural revitalisation strategy, tourism development in ethnic areas is booming under the guidance of rural tourism elites. Through a series of unstructured and semi-structured interviews, the mechanism of rural tourism elites is explained, and the factors affecting their role are identified based on the destination life cycle theory and push-pull theory. Results show the following: (1) The development of rural tourism has experienced the stages of exploration, involvement, development and consolidation. (2) Rural tourism elites have played leading, coordinating, guiding, and demonstrating roles in different stages of rural development. (3) Rural tourism elites are affected by both push and pull factors in participating in rural tourism. Push factors include personal experience and spiritual quality. Pull factors include government, market, and social network.