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As populations age, nature-based tourism enhances mental health. Grounded in Relational Restoration Theory (RRT), we articulate a dual-route account that integrates Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and Stress Recovery Theory (SRT). Addressing a non-Western context where self-efficacy and meaning in life have rarely been examined, we model spiritual well-being (SWB) as the resource channel linking these appraisals. Using validated measures and structural equation modeling with 503 senior tourists in Jiuzhaigou National Park, China, perceived landscape aesthetic quality was positively associated with mental health, with SWB partially mediating this relationship. Ordinal-appropriate estimation and method-effect diagnostics supported the robustness of the findings. Field observations and manager interviews contextualized how multisensory, age-friendly operations enhance SWB. The study clarifies how ART and SRT function within RRT, reframes restoration as agentic and meaning-oriented, and informs spiritually responsive, age-friendly heritage management while acknowledging cross-sectional, self-report, single-site limitations.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.