[Objective] Tourism functions not only serve as an important pathway for promoting the realization of national parks’ public welfare objectives, but also represent one of the key links in achieving the synergy between ecological conservation and sustainable development. From the perspective of online travel videos, this study explores the pathways through which perceptions of cultural ecosystem services (CES) in national parks impact potential tourists’ travel intention, thereby providing theoretical and empirical references for further refined management of national park ecosystems. [Methods] Taking China’s five officially established national parks as case studies, online travel videos of national park tourism from 2015 to 2024 were screened on mainstream video-sharing platforms, and typical interaction moments between video footage and viewers’ comments were systematically extracted. Furthermore, this study employed grounded theory to investigate potential tourists’ perceptions of CES in national parks, and, based on this, analyzed their travel intention using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method. [Results] (1) From the perspective of online travel videos, perceptions of CES in national parks involved five dimensions: sensory-aesthetic experience, recreational and entertainment experience, knowledge and educational experience, sense of place and cultural identity, and national park identity. (2) The potential travel intention expressed by video viewers mainly followed five pathways: sensory immersion-driven, entertainment interaction-driven, educational identity-driven, cultural identity-driven, and ecological responsibility-driven. (3) The potential travel intention expressed by viewers was essentially a psychological process jointly driven by cognitive construction and emotional experience. Through interactive participation, it triggered the viewers’ cognitive and emotional value identification with CES of specific national parks, thereby ultimately forming travel motivation. [Conclusion] Online travel videos can effectively overcome spatiotemporal limitations and extend the benefit boundaries of CES in national parks. Potential tourists’ travel intention follows a synergistic driving mechanism of emotional experience and cognitive construction. Future new media communication for national parks should strengthen the deep integration of emotional resonance and value identification, thereby promoting the realization of public welfare objectives.

[Objective] Flagship species, as the most communicative ecological symbols of national parks, are important media for conveying the values of ecological civilization and shaping the national ecological image. This study aims to explore the influence mechanisms of flagship species promotion in national parks on public perception of the national ecological image and tourists’ behavioral intention. [Methods] Based on the cultivation theory and the cognition-affect-conation pattern, this study constructed a “communication contact-cognitive input-emotional response-behavioral output” model. Using the Giant Panda National Park as the case study and the giant panda as the flagship species for promotion, data were collected via an online questionnaire from April to May 2025 to test the research hypothesis. [Results] (1) Compared with publicity without flagship species, the promotion of flagship species in national parks could significantly and positively enhance the public perception of the national ecological image. (2) Perception of the national ecological image could significantly affect tourists’ behavioral intention, with emotional connection playing a notable mediating role between perception of the national ecological image and tourists’ behavioral intention. (3) Anthropocentric values weakened the positive impact of national ecological image perception on travel intention. [Conclusion] Flagship species promotion in national parks significantly enhances public perception of the national ecological image, which can directly enhance the public’s willingness to travel to national parks and indirectly enhance their willingness to travel through the intermediary of emotional connection. Therefore, some national parks can develop core flagship species and promote them, and on this basis, further strengthen individuals’ emotional connection, so as to promote the national ecological image in a way that appeals to emotion. Additionally, efforts should focus on cultivating values that transcend anthropocentrism, thereby laying a sustainable value foundation for continuous advancement of ecological civilization.

[Objective] Community residents’ pro-environmental willingness is a core element of national park ecological governance and plays a pivotal role in promoting the coordination between ecological conservation and community development in national parks. From a configurational perspective, this study investigates the formation pathways of pro-environmental willingness among community residents of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, thereby providing a reference for constructing a multi-stakeholder collaborative governance model for national parks. [Methods] Focusing on community residents of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, this study constructed an analytical framework of “cognitive perceptions—affective factors—external context” based on the theory of planned behavior, and applied fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify the formation pathways of high and non-high levels of pro-environmental willingness. Furthermore, it analyzed the differences in the formation mechanisms of high-level pro-environmental willingness between the private and public spheres, and interpreted the results of the configurational analysis using inductive qualitative content analysis. [Results] (1) Awe is a necessary single condition influencing high-level pro-environmental willingness among community residents, and high-level pro-environmental willingness can be categorized into two configurational types: the endogenous emotion-cognition-driven type and exogenous norm-regulation-driven type. (2) The configurational pathways of non-high-level pro-environmental willingness among community residents are characterized by the combined absence of behavioral attitude, subjective norm, environmental regulation, and awe. (3) In the private sphere, the formation of high-level pro-environmental willingness is based on awe as a foundational core condition and jointly driven by multiple conditions, such as behavioral attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and environmental regulation. In the public sphere, the formation of such willingness requires internal motivation from behavioral attitude and awe, as well as enabling support from perceived behavioral control and environmental regulation. [Conclusion] The pro-environmental willingness of residents in national park communities is the result of a multifaceted interaction of cognitive, emotional, and external factors. To enhance this willingness, it is crucial to adhere to principles such as prioritizing essential conditions, accommodating heterogeneity, distinguishing between public and private spheres, and promoting multi-factor coordination. This approach will transform governance models to be more contextually adaptive.

[Objective] Tourism development in national parks can reshape community livelihood transitions and conservation outcomes, which is critical for local development and for achieving conservation goals. Therefore, it is of practical significance to examine how residents’ perceived tourism benefits can be effectively translated into ecological conservation behaviors. [Methods] This study draws on semi-structured interview data collected in Hubei’s Shennongjia National Park during 2022-2023 and 542 resident survey questionnaires. Using directed content analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), and grounded in social exchange theory, the study examines the mechanisms through which residents’ multidimensional perceived tourism benefits shape ecological conservation behaviors, and further investigates the mediating role of residents’ well-being and the moderating role of institutional trust, including subgroup differences. [Results] (1) Perceived economic, social, and cultural benefits had significant positive effects on residents’ ecological conservation behaviors, whereas the effect of perceived environmental benefits was not significant, likely due to the externality and time-lagged nature of ecological benefits. (2) Residents’ well-being functioned as a key affective mechanism facilitating ecological conservation behaviors. (3) Institutional trust in national park positively moderated the pathways from perceived cultural benefits and residents’ well-being to ecological conservation behaviors, but this moderating effect was markedly weaker in resettled communities with lower levels of trust. (4) Residents’ ecological conservation behaviors in national park is jointly shaped by multidimensional perceived tourism benefits and affective mechanisms, with the underlying pathways differing across community types. [Conclusion] This study extends the applicability of social exchange theory in contexts of strong public governance and delineates its boundary conditions. Ecological conservation behaviors in national parks exhibits a chained mechanism from perceived tourism benefits to residents’ well-being and, in turn, to conservation participation; the strength of this mechanism hinges on whether tourism development and institutional arrangements can deliver realizable benefits and reduce exchange uncertainty. Governance should strengthen institutional trust through procedural and distributive fairness, thereby sustaining residents’ ecological conservation behaviors, while adopting differentiated approaches across community types.