ABSTRACT
The theoretical research on cause-related marketing in the field of tourism is comparatively lacking. This study aims to examine the role of moral elevation in the cause-related marketing of tourist destinations. Taking Zhangjiajie, China as a case study, based on the stimulus-organism-response framework, this research develops a model of altruistic motivation, moral elevation and tourism support behavior. The results show that altruistic motivation has a significant positive impact on the emotional component, the views of humanity and the desire to be a better person;the desire to be a better person has a significant positive impact on tourism support behavior, and it also plays a mediating role between altruistic motivation and tourism support behavior. This study applies cause-related marketing theory to the research of tourist destinations, which can provide useful suggestions for the marketing of other tourist destinations under the background of the COVID-19 epidemic. © 2023 by the authors.