ABSTRACT Cultivating harmonious relationships between tourists and residents is essential for successful destination management. The empathy shown by tourists and the host community serves as a key factor in mitigating conflicts between these two groups, ultimately elevating destination satisfaction and loyalty. This study constructs a holistic conceptual model delineating the role of empathy in shaping destination loyalty by examining the antecedents and consequences for tourists, as well as the effect on destination trust, trip satisfaction, and destination loyalty. Data were collected from 595 Mainland Chinese tourists who were taking pleasure trips to Macau. The results indicated that social identity, cultural distance, and place attachment were significant antecedents to the enhancement of tourists' empathy, thereby inducing destination trust, trip satisfaction, and destination loyalty. This study highlights the role of empathy in forming trust, satisfaction, and loyalty toward a destination. Destination managers can improve tourists' destination loyalty by generating a sense of empathy.
Yang et al. (2026) studied this question.