Cultural Proximity and Identity Reinforcement in Domestic Tourism: A Multidimensional Experiential Model from Cotopaxi National Park

Compared with international travel, where dominant frameworks emphasize cultural distance, novelty, and difference, domestic tourism in protected natural areas remains under-theorized. This study conceptualizes domestic tourism through cultural proximity and introduces the Applied Cultural Proximity Model (ACPM), which frames the tourist experience as a multidimensional experiential system in which environmental, cultural, managerial, infrastructural, and communicative elements acquire meaning within shared symbolic contexts. A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was employed. Expert interviews informed construct development, followed by a survey of Ecuadorian domestic tourists visiting Cotopaxi National Park (n = 1,113). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a six-dimensional structure (natural, cultural, accessibility, administrative, complementary, communication), demonstrating strong reliability and convergent validity. Structural equation modelling indicated good model fit (CFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.064), supporting the structural adequacy of the integrated experiential system. Natural attributes show the greatest experiential prominence, while cultural and communication dimensions occupy key structural positions in symbolic engagement and meaning construction. The findings suggest a theoretical inversion of cultural distance logic: in culturally familiar settings, familiarity, continuity, and identity resonance underpin experiential coherence. The ACPM provides a validated framework for analyzing domestic tourism in culturally rich protected areas and supports sustainable, identity-sensitive destination management.