Folk Festivals as Restorative Environments Based on Attention Restoration Theory–The Roles of Liminal Experience and Timing

BACKGROUND: Research on the restorative environment has long focused on the natural environment, while the research on the humanistic social environment is still in its infancy. In particular, there has been no special research on the restoration of festival environments. METHODS: Based on attention restoration theory (ART), Rites of Passage, and social time, a theoretical model of the restorativeness of folk festival environments was established. Through an empirical study of the Qinhuai Lantern Festival Event, the model was tested by structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Overall, there were two paths, direct and indirect, for the positive prediction of restoration by being away and compatibility; fascination direct positive predict restoration, and extent could indirectly positive predict restoration through liminal experience; time of visiting played a moderating role in the positive prediction of liminal experience by being away; the direct positive prediction of restoration by extent was significant and moderating during the Lantern Festival and the lantern fair period. CONCLUSION: The folk festival environment is restorative. Folk festival environment restoration has the internal mechanism of “environment restoration feature perception → liminal experience → restoration”. The restoration of the folk festival environment is moderated by social time. SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first time that attention restoration theory (ART) has been applied to the study of a “hard fascination” humanistic social environment, thus yielding empirical evidence for the development of this theory. The results suggest management requirements for the improvement of the indication system of festival tourism destinations and the promotion of rest and leisure facilities, and management tips for the timing decision of festival activities against the background of the COVID-19 epidemic.