Exploring the relationship between cultural product rejuvenation experience quality and tourists' authentic happiness: the role of perceived value and education level

Based on social exchange theory, this study explores the impact of cultural product rejuvenation experience quality on tourists' authentic happiness, examining the mediating role of perceived value between cultural product rejuvenation experience quality and tourists' authentic happiness, as well as the moderating effect of education level. A moderated mediation model was constructed. Analysis of 488 tourist samples from scenic areas revealed: (1) Cultural product rejuvenation experience quality significantly enhances tourists' authentic happiness; (2) Perceived value fully mediates the relationship between cultural product rejuvenation experience quality and tourists' authentic happiness; (3) Education level positively moderates the relationship between cultural product rejuvenation experience quality and perceived value—compared to less-educated tourists, highly-educated tourists can better interpret the cultural connotations behind cultural products, thereby gaining higher perceived value from the experience; (4) Education level positively moderates the mediating effect of perceived value between cultural product rejuvenation experience quality and tourists' authentic happiness. This study enriches and expands theoretical research on tourist happiness, providing theoretical foundations and practical references for the development of cultural heritage destinations and tourism enterprises.