Deconstructing tourist experiences in China's traditional villages: a cognitive–affective–conative perspective

Purpose While traditional village tourism is rapidly flourishing in China, scholarly research on tourists' experiences within these destinations remains limited. This study explores the tourist experience in China's traditional villages. Design/methodology/approach Using the cognitive–affective–conative model, this study employed a qualitative netnographic approach to investigate tourists' experiences by analyzing online reviews. Findings This study identifies tourism infrastructure, landscape, natural lifestyle, atmosphere, kinaesthesia and education as key dimensions of cognitive experience, while affective experiences encompass enjoyment, nostalgia, social bonding, tension release and negative emotions. Finally, conative experiences are reflected in tourists' intentions to recommend and revisit traditional villages. Research limitations/implications This research highlights the capacity of traditional villages to provide tourists with functional, hedonic, social and emotional value. However, the focus on a single case limits the generalizability of the findings. Future research should examine traditional village tourism across diverse sociocultural contexts. Originality/value Previous research has predominantly examined the protection and sustainable development of traditional villages from suppliers' perspectives. By contrast, this study develops a conceptual framework for understanding tourists' experiences in traditional villages and offers insights into cultural heritage preservation and sustainable tourism development.