CULTURAL ATMOSPHERE, HAPPINESS, AND TOURIST LOYALTY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF RURAL HOMESTAYS IN CHINA

Abstract

Against the backdrop of China's rural revitalization strategy, the development of rural homestays has emerged as a key driver for upgrading the rural tourism economy. Examining how the cultural atmosphere of rural homestays influences tourist happiness and loyalty can contribute to exploring sustainable development models for homestay tourism, while offering practical insights into the integration of rural culture and tourism. This study takes Hongcun Village as an example and constructs a theoretical model based on self-regulatory attitude theory, incorporating variables such as rural homestay cultural atmosphere, tourist happiness, and loyalty. Empirical analysis was conducted using SPSS 27.0 and SmartPLS 4.1. The results indicate: (1) The cultural atmosphere of rural homestays has a significant positive impact on tourist happiness; (2) Tourist happiness positively influences loyalty; (3) The cultural atmosphere significantly and positively affects loyalty. Based on these findings, it is recommended that rural homestays deepen their local cultural characteristics, improve service quality, enhance tourist emotional experiences, and strengthen brand appeal through targeted marketing, thereby increasing tourist loyalty and promoting the high-quality development of rural homestays.