Service Quality, Infrastructure, Price Fairness, and Tourist Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Perceived Destination Value in Chinese Cross-Border Tourism to Mongolia

Cross-border tourism presents unique challenges in understanding how service, infrastructure,and price perceptions translate into tourist satisfaction, particularly in emerging destinations.Despite the growing importance of Chinese outbound tourism, limited research has examinedthe mechanisms through which perceived destination value and cultural distance shapesatisfaction. Drawing on Perceived Value Theory (PVT) and Expectancy–DisconfirmationTheory (EDT), this study investigates the influence of tourism service quality (TSQ), destinationinfrastructure quality (DIQ), and price fairness perception (PFP) on tourist satisfaction (TS),considering the mediating role of perceived destination value (PDV) and the moderating effectof cultural distance perception (CDP). A survey of 400 Chinese tourists who visited Mongoliain the past 12 months was conducted, and data were analysed using Smart-PLS for structuralequation modelling. Results reveal a significant negative effect of TSQ on PDV (H1: β = –0.346,t = 4.509, p < 0.001), with DIQ and PFP showing non-significant effects. PDV significantlypredicts TS (H4: β = 0.274, t = 2.665, p = 0.008), and fully mediates the TSQ–TS relationship(H9: t = 2.179, p = 0.029). Moreover, CDP negatively moderates the PDV–TS link (H8: β = –0.295, t = 3.361, p = 0.001), indicating that cultural distance attenuates satisfaction even whenperceived value is high. These findings highlight the critical role of perceived value as apsychological conduit and the contextual importance of cultural distance in cross-bordertourism. The study contributes theoretically by extending PVT and EDT to emergingdestinations and practically by guiding tourism stakeholders to prioritize value-oriented servicestrategies, expectation management, and cultural accommodation to enhance tourist satisfaction