Revolutionary roads to tourists’ well-being: gratitude and citizenship behaviour effects of dark heritage tourism

An essential gap exists in understanding the positive behavioural outcomes of participating in dark heritage tourism. This study, grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response theory and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, examines the impact of a unique type of dark heritage tourism – red tourism – on tourists’ citizenship behaviour, gratitude, and well-being. The findings reveal that red tourism experiences directly enhance tourists’ gratitude, which in turn strengthens their citizenship behaviour and subsequently enhances their subjective well-being. Furthermore, the research uncovers a sequential mediating effect in which gratitude and citizenship behaviour link red tourism experiences to improved subjective well-being. This study contributes to the understanding of how dark heritage tourism initiatives foster positive psychological states and encourage pro-social behaviours. The results also offer actionable insights for designing red tourism experiences that support the preservation and development of red cultural heritage.