Knowledge-based or affection-based? The influence mechanism of heritage tourism interpretation content on tourists' willingness to inherit culture

Heritage tourism interpretation is a crucial link to cultural inheritance. However, how to design heritage tourism interpretation content to enhance tourists' willingness to inherit culture is unclear. Therefore, we examined how heritage tourism interpretation content (knowledge- and affection-based content) affects tourists' willingness to inherit culture. The results indicate that the affection-based content effect on tourists' willingness to inherit culture is stronger. Moreover, the interpretation effect is driven by tourists' perceived responsibility and cultural identity, representing an affective process. Additionally, personalized power activation is more effective in cultivating tourists' willingness to inherit culture, while there is no significant difference in the interpretation content effect with socialized power motivation. Our study reveals the influence mechanism of heritage tourism interpretation on tourists' willingness to inherit culture, thereby advancing the research on heritage tourism interpretation and sustainable development. It also provides practical insights into cultural inheritance and sustainable development by improving the interpretative functions.