Differentiated Drivers of Tourist Sentiment in Wellness Tourism Destinations: A User-Generated Content (UGC)-Based Analysis of Spatial-Temporal Patterns

With increasing demand for wellness tourism, identifying the key factors influencing emotional perceptions is essential for optimizing destination planning and management. Although Anhui Province has experienced rapid growth in wellness tourism destinations in recent years, scientific understanding of tourists’ emotional perceptions and their driving mechanisms has lagged behind this rapid expansion, a gap that can be addressed by integrating big data with spatial analysis to provide a scientific perspective for optimizing destination planning and informing regional wellness tourism policy. To address this gap, this study conducts a sentiment analysis of wellness bases in Anhui Province using user-generated content (UGC) data. Sentiment scores were quantified via SnowNLP, while kernel density, time-series, and multivariate statistical analyses were applied to examine spatial distributions, temporal dynamics of sentiments and review volumes, and emotional driving factors. The results indicate a spatial pattern of higher density in the south, lower density in the north, and dual-core agglomeration, closely linked to natural resource endowments. Temporally, sentiment scores rise in spring and summer and decline in winter, while review volumes peak in spring and autumn. Overall regression analyses reveal a significant positive effect of green coverage and a negative effect of accommodation prices. In the typological analysis, sentiment scores of Forest Wellness Bases (FWBs) relate to green coverage and negative ions, while Hydrological Wellness Bases (HWBs), Traditional Chinese Medicine Wellness Bases (TCMWBs), and Wellness Towns (WTs) are driven by the combined effects of facility services, locational price, and ecological environment. These findings provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development and differentiated management of wellness tourism destinations.