data

The investigator team consisted of 8 trained student investigators who approached tourists who had recently stayed or were currently staying in homestays. Each respondent completed the questionnaire in a one-on-one setting to ensure response quality and accuracy. We conducted two waves of data collection: the first in late July to early August 2022, during the summer holiday, and the second in early October 2022, during the National Day holiday. These two periods were chosen for practical and methodological reasons. First, both are national holidays in China, when tourist traffic is high—facilitating efficient data collection. Second, the timing aligned with the availability of trained student researchers. Third and most importantly, the October wave served as a methodological complement: it aimed to address sample size limitations and fill gaps in certain survey items identified after the August data screening. This also allowed for cross-validation of responses within a short two-month interval, improving data completeness and reliability without significant seasonal variation.To ensure sample completeness and data accuracy, a random sampling survey of tourists was conducted near famous scenic spots, such as the Shili Gallery, Yulong River, Xingping Town, and West Street, or within and around various boutique homestays. The on-site face-to face interception method was used to fill out a one-on-one questionnaire, and proportional sampling was conducted based on the number of tourists at the survey site. A total of 400 questionnaires were collected, of which 372 were retained after screening; thus, the validity rate was 93%. Descriptive statistics showed that 37.6% were male and 62.4% were female participants. The respondents were mainly young people, with 46.8% aged 25 years and below and 49.5% aged between 26–50 years. Of the visitors, 73.7% had a bachelor’s degree. The tourists with the intention to evaluate, recommend, and repurchase accounted for 58.6%, 66.1% and 66.4%, respectively. For most respondents, it was not the first time they stayed in a homestay; they were familiar with and enjoyed homestays, indicating that tourists have a higher level of loyalty in choosing homestays. A total of 86.0%, 86.0%, and 98.4% of tourists believed that the host was trustworthy, fulfilled their promises, and had high overall satisfaction with their homestay, respectively, indicating that most tourists enjoyed a high degree of satisfaction and trust with their homestays.