Dataset for “Rigid versus flexible: The effect of destination revitalization policy on tourists’ travel behavioral intention”

This dataset documents a multi-method empirical investigation of how destination revitalization policy styles influence tourists’ social judgments and travel behavioral intentions. The study comprises one qualitative pilot study and three experimental studies conducted between October 2023 and February 2024 in China, involving both potential tourists and on-site visitors.
The pilot study consists of semi-structured interview data collected from 64 tourists with recent leisure travel experience. These interviews explore tourists’ perceptions of destination revitalization policies and their associated judgments of warmth, competence, and travel intention. Interview transcripts were systematically coded to inform the development of experimental stimuli and measurement instruments.
Study 2 contains data from an online scenario-based experiment (N = 270) in which participants were randomly assigned to rigid versus flexible destination revitalization policy conditions. The dataset includes measures of perceived warmth, perceived competence, travel behavioral intention, temporal distance, manipulation checks, and demographic variables.
Study 3 includes field experimental data collected from 265 on-site tourists in a major scenic destination. Participants were exposed to video-based policy stimuli and made a behaviorally grounded choice regarding a hotel accommodation coupon. The dataset records experimental condition assignment, social judgment measures, behavioral responses, control variables, and respondent demographics.
Study 4 comprises data from a 2 × 2 field experiment (N = 420) examining the moderating role of temporal distance (short vs. long) on the effects of policy type. Travel behavioral intention was operationalized as acceptance of a scenic spot admission discount coupon. The dataset includes experimental conditions, behavioral outcomes, social judgment measures, and demographic controls.
Together, these datasets provide comprehensive evidence across qualitative and experimental methods, enabling analysis of how governance-related policy signals are cognitively and affectively interpreted by tourists, and how these interpretations translate into behavioral intentions under different temporal decision frames. The data are suitable for research on tourism governance, policy evaluation, social judgment processes, and tourist decision-making.