This paper outlines the characteristics of mass tourism and national tourism at various stages of development in China and the West. It examines tourism consumption behavior and phenomena in unusual environments, explained through Say’s Law, prospect theory from behavioral economics, and mental accounting. From this analysis, the paper offers five inferences and nine trend predictions.

The primary goal of rural revitalization is to increase residents’earnings and reduce the urban-rural income gap. Using the tourism resources of scenic spots as an entry point, this study meticulously analyzes the impact of tourism development on household incomes at the provincial, county, and municipal levels, including within the scenic spots. It estimates the incremental pure tourism income that tourism development has generated for households in scenic spots. The findings indicate that the urban-rural divide remains the largest source of income disparity at both micro and macro levels. This is an issue that must be urgently addressed on the Chinese path to modernization in rural tourism. It argues that economies of scale may not be suitable for most rural areas in China. However, economies of scope may provide a more appropriate path for the modernization of the rural tourism industry. The feasibility and existence of economies of scope in rural tourism are demonstrated through mathematical methods. Finally, the paper outlines specific measures and relevant principles for adopting economies of scope to guide the future development of rural tourism in alignment with China’s industrial development objectives.

Monitoring customers to ensure they finish their meals (“clean plate campaign”) in catering enterprises is a significant measure to prevent food waste. However, this practice may provoke negative responses from customers. With the rise of intelligent dining services, service robots are becoming more prevalent. There is limited research examining whether using service robots can mitigate the adverse effects of monitoring customers’ plate waste in buffet settings. To address this gap, the present study employs the theory of mind perception to investigate how buffet customers respond to varying intensities of plate waste monitoring conducted by service robots compared to human waitstaff. A pilot study and scenario-based experiment reveal the following key findings: 1. Compared to low monitoring intensity, high monitoring intensity increases negative customer responses, specifically manifested as more negative customer attitudes and a higher willingness to engage in negative word-of-mouth behavior. 2. Service provider type interacts with monitoring intensity: when plate waste monitoring is low, service robots reduce negative customer responses compared to human waitstaff; however, with increased monitoring intensity, the ability of service robots to mitigate negative customer responses diminishes. 3. Perceived restrictiveness mediates the interactive effects of service provider type and monitoring intensity on customer responses.

In conclusion, this study enriches theoretical research by revealing the novel role of service robots in influencing customers to reduce plate waste. Furthermore, it offers practical insights for catering enterprises aiming to optimize their plate waste monitoring strategies.

Music can guide audiences on a journey, with urban folk songs enabling them to“walk into”a tourist destination, travelling through musical time and space. However, the internal psychological processes require in-depth interpretation. Based on the theory of tourism encounters, this study employs the concept of mental time travel and applies proceduralized grounded theory to analyze music reviews of the song Chengdu on the NetEase Cloud Music platform across three levels. This analysis constructs a process model of mental time travel between audiences and urban folk songs. 1. Urban folk songs work like a“triggers”for mental time travel; the present functions as the“anchor point,”while memory and self-act as the“machines,”allowing audiences to traverse subjective time, encompassing both the past and future. 2. The audience’s body is an“emotional interleaving field,”with accumulated subjective emotions acting as the “lubricant” for the mental time travel “machine.” This process facilitates the audience’s journey within the musical time-space travel, enabling them to “enter” the tourist destination across time and space.

This research innovatively integrates the theory of tourism encounters with the concept of mental time travel to reveal the internal psychological process of the musical time-space journey experienced by listeners of urban folk songs. Additionally, it offers practical insights for tourism destination marketing organizations.

Karst tourism practice is crucial for the economic and social development of karst regions, necessitating systematic academic research for scientific guidance. Consequently, reviewing and forecasting karst tourism research is imperative. Currently, there is a scarcity of literature summarizing knowledge and reflecting on issues within the domestic karst tourism research system. This article reviews and summarizes representative literature on domestic karst tourism since 1985. It systematically examines research topics and methods in this field, identifies research gaps, constructs a research framework, and proposes future research directions. The study findings are as follows. 1. Domestic karst tourism research has evolved through an embryonic stage (1985-1996), a development stage (1997-2009), and a stable stage (2010-present). 2. Research topics include the basic connotation, development, and utilization of karst tourism resources, the brand image of karst tourism destinations, karst rural tourism, poverty alleviation and development, and the impact and sustainable development of karst tourism. 3. Research methods encompass both qualitative and quantitative analyses, with relatively rich qualitative research findings. 4. Academic attention to karst tourism fluctuates, often with low research quality and lacking a systematic approach. 5. Future research should strengthen foundational, empirical, and contemporary studies of karst tourism.