This study specifies and validates a three-layer Structural Equation Model (SEM) that accounts for how tourists’ evaluations of destination attributes translate into loyalty; the model is based on UN Tourism’s sustainability pillars. Guided by service-science and Customer Experience (CX) logics, and adopting a Tourist Experience (TX) framework that treats Tourist Experience as a domain-specific case of CX, we define five first-order antecedents—Emotions (EMS), Local Culture (CTL), Authenticity (AUT), Entertainment (ENT), and Servicescape (SVS)—that load onto a higher-order appraisal, Global Perception (GEN), which in turn drives Destination Loyalty (LOY). Using ordinal indicators and a robust diagonally weighted least squares estimator (WLSMV), the model exhibits a good global fit (CFI/TLI = 0.970/0.968; SRMR = 0.049; RMSEA = 0.073 [90% CI = 0.070–0.076]). Standardized effects indicate that GEN is primarily explained by Emotions (β = 0.445, p < 0.001), Authenticity (β = 0.271, p < 0.001), and Servicescape (β = 0.241, p < 0.001), whereas CTL and ENT are not significant when competing with these other predictors. GEN strongly predicts LOY (β = 0.967, p < 0.001), mediating sizable indirect effects from EMS, AUT, and SVS to LOY. The findings corroborate a parsimonious mediational chain in which affective, meaning-related, and infrastructural inputs cohere into a single global appraisal that is proximal to loyalty. Our study provides a decision-focused blueprint for designing emotion-rich, authenticity-protecting, and well-orchestrated servicescapes to enhance GEN and, consequently, LOY; it adheres to established SEM reporting standards and articulates a holistic transactional conceptualization grounded in recent tourism literature. Improvements in GEN reflect not only better experiences but also designs consistent with long-run destination sustainability.

Protected Natural Areas (PNAs) face a structural challenge in Tourist eXperience (TX) management: existing TX evaluation instruments were developed mainly for controlled commercial environments and do not account for the ecological variability, diverse visitor profiles, and dual conservation-recreation mandate that characterize these spaces. This article presents the development and appraisal of the PNAs TX Checklist (PNA-TX), a 41-item instrument designed to evaluate tourist experience quality in protected natural areas across six dimensions: Sensory, Emotional, Cognitive, Practical, Relational, and Sustainability. The instrument was developed following Stufflebeam’s Checklist Development Checklist (CDC) methodology, grounded in a systematic review of TX literature. It was appraisal through an initial review by three Tourism Administration students, followed by two sequential rounds of expert appraisal involving eight and nine practitioners, respectively, from Chilean national parks and private conservation reserves; the perceived usefulness of PNA-TX was also assessed with tourists of varied cultural backgrounds. This appraisal process indicates that the PNA-TX showed evidence of applicability, usefulness, and feasibility within the Chilean protected-area contexts examined by experts, complemented by preliminary evidence of perceived usefulness across a culturally diverse tourist sample. The PNA-TX addresses a gap in the literature by combining field-observable management conditions with experiential quality indicators specifically calibrated for the protected natural area context. It also supports sustainability-oriented management practices aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11, 13, and 15.