From anticipation to reflection: how travel phases shape curiosity, empathy, and idea quality in pro–poor ethnic tourism

Pro-poor tourism initiatives increasingly involve tourists as co-creators of poverty alleviation solutions. Nevertheless, the sustainability implications of positioning tourists in this role, particularly how tourists’ cognitive and emotional responses evolve across the travel phases remain poorly understood. This study bridges the gap by examining how travel phases shape tourists’ curiosity, empathy, and the quality of their pro-poor ideas in an ethnic tourism context. Data were collected from 390 tourists who visited the pro-poor ethnic tourism site of Zhaoxing Dong Village, China, using a matched pre- and post-visit design. Results show that tourists exhibit shifts from joyous curiosity and original, yet abstract, ideas pre-visit, to heightened epistemic curiosity, empathy, and more feasible, convincing ideas post-visit. Curiosity and empathy acted as key mediators linking travel phases with creative output. Theoretically, this study advances the discourse on participatory sustainability by framing tourists’ creative input not merely as a resource but as a dynamic, phase-contingent process entangled with power and knowledge asymmetries. Practically, the findings benefit destination managers to critically assess tourist ideas, advocating for nuanced engagement strategies that balance creative potential with ethical responsibility and community-led priorities.