Research on configurational paths of tourist experience affecting tourist sentiment in north and south ice and snow tourism destinations

Amid the boom of southerners traveling north for ice and snow tourism, a central challenge for sustainable development is how northern destinations seize these opportunities and how southern destinations engage in exchange and mutual learning with their northern counterparts. Drawing on more than 50000 tourist reviews from 61 destinations, this study applies text sentiment analysis, structural topic model, hierarchical clustering, and fuzzy‑set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to identify experiential dimensions, compare relative strengths and weaknesses under varying conditions, and examine drivers of positive and negative sentiment across northern and southern destinations. The findings are: (1) A total of 22 topics related to the experiences of ice and snow tourists can be categorized into seven dimensions. Among these topics, "animal performances" have received insufficient attention in extant literature. (2) The advantages of southern ice and snow tourism destinations lie in "scenic spot services and image", while the advantages of northern ice and snow tourism destinations lie in "ice and snow leisure and entertainment". The evolution of ice and snow tourism destinations is a dynamic process of balancing "relying on natural endowments" and "optimizing service experience". (3) The reasons for the positive or negative sentiments of tourists in northern and southern ice and snow tourism destinations are complex and vary from region to region. These sentiments are the result of the multidimensional interaction of ice and snow tourism experiences. The study offers theoretical and practical insights for the ice and snow tourism market, facilitating the comprehension of tourist needs and the optimization of regional targeting. (4) "Family experience" and other factors are significant conditions for fostering positive sentiment among tourists, while "cost and risk" and other factors are important causes of negative sentiment among tourists. (5) The reasons for tourists' positive or negative sentiments in northern and southern ice and snow tourism destinations are complex and vary from region to region. These sentiments are the result of the multidimensional interaction of ice and snow tourism experiences. The study provides theoretical and practical insights for understanding tourist needs and optimizing regional targeting in the ice and snow tourism market.