Traditional Costume Travel Photography (TCTP) and Destination Cultural Identity dataset

Dataset Title
Traditional Costume Travel Photography (TCTP) and Destination Cultural Identity
Description
This dataset explores how Traditional Costume Travel Photography (TCTP), an emerging form of performative tourism experience, influences tourists’ destination cultural identity. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework, the dataset integrates qualitative and quantitative data to examine how TCTP experiences evoke cultural immersion and self-expansion, which subsequently foster destination cultural identity. Cultural familiarity is included as a moderating factor capturing individual differences in tourists’ experiential responses. The dataset supports empirical research in tourism, leisure, and cultural identity studies.
Data Sources
The dataset consists of two components:
(1) online user-generated travel narratives related to traditional costume experiences and travel photography;
(2) survey data measuring tourists’ experiential perceptions, psychological mechanisms, and cultural identity outcomes.
Methods
Online Textual Data
User-generated travel narratives were collected via web crawling from major Chinese tourism platforms (e.g., Weibo and Ctrip) using keywords such as “traditional costume experience” and “travel photography.” After cleaning, screening, and de-duplication, 165 valid texts were retained. These texts were analyzed using grounded theory to identify the core experiential dimensions of TCTP.
Survey Data
Survey data were collected through a professional online survey platform. The questionnaire includes established and adapted scales measured on a 5-point Likert scale, as well as demographic and screening questions. Core constructs include TCTP experience elements (costume, landscape, interpersonal interaction), cultural immersion, self-expansion, destination cultural identity, and cultural familiarity. A total of 733 valid responses were obtained. All variables were numerically coded and prepared for statistical analysis.
Data Records
The dataset contains an anonymized textual corpus for qualitative analysis and a numerically coded survey dataset suitable for statistical modeling, including structural equation modeling and moderation–mediation analysis.
Usage Notes
The dataset may be used to (a) replicate or extend the proposed S-O-R-based model; (b) conduct cross-cultural or comparative tourism studies; (c) analyze tourists’ narratives and meaning-making processes; and (d) explore additional mediating or moderating mechanisms related to experiential tourism and cultural identity.
Ethics Statement
Online textual data were collected from publicly available sources in compliance with platform policies. Survey participants provided informed consent prior to participation. All textual data have been anonymized, and the survey dataset contains no personally identifiable information. The dataset is available for non-commercial academic research purposes upon request from the authors.