This study develops an integrated model to examine the underlying mechanisms through which destination social responsibility (DSR) facilitates the informal educational function of heritage tourism. By integrating travel motivations, behavioral intention and destination attachment, the research explores how DSR moderates the relationships among variables within the sequential framework, transforming tourist engagement into reflective heritage learning outcomes.
Using survey data collected from 300 valid respondents visiting cultural destinations in Taiwan, the study applies partial least squares structural equation modeling to validate the measurement model and test the proposed research hypotheses.
The results elucidate the evolutionary process of transforming tourist push–pull motivations into informal educational functions. Empirical evidence shows that push–pull motivations function as statistical antecedents predicting behavioral intention. Crucially, the transformation from behavioral intention to informal educational functions is fully realized through the mediation of destination attachment. Furthermore, DSR significantly positive-moderates these structural pathways as a critical boundary condition, revealing how destination ethical initiatives interact with visitor psychological mechanisms to enhance long-term reflective learning.
Theoretically, this research extends the stimulus-organism-response model into heritage tourism by validating destination attachment as a pivotal organism state that converts behavioral commitment into informal educational outcomes. Practically, the study provides DMOs with an adaptive, flexible and hierarchical resource allocation model to strategically deploy social responsibility initiatives under real-world budgetary and localized constraints.
This study bridges the traditional gap between commercial destination marketing and sustainable tourism education. It provides a novel conceptualization of how DSR actively catalyze deep cognitive-affective transformations, positioning cultural destinations not merely as leisure spaces but as platforms for self-directed informal education.
