In this study, we construct an integrated model demonstrating how the tourism experience (TE) affects tourists’ subjective well-being (SWB) via recollection and storytelling. We distributed questionnaires to tourists in two destinations in China (Kulangsu and Dr Sun Yat-Sen’s Mausoleum) and gathered 320 and 510 valid responses, respectively. The empirical results of Study 1 (Kulangsu) indicated that the tourism experience (TE) directly promoted tourists’ recollection, storytelling, and SWB. Additionally, recollection directly affected storytelling but not SWB. Storytelling further positively affected SWB. Mediation results revealed the following paths: 1) tourism experiences affected storytelling, which influenced SWB; 2) tourism experiences affected recollection, which influenced storytelling and in turn SWB. Findings from Study 2 (Dr Sun Yat-Sen’s Mausoleum) corroborated those of Study 1, confirming the stability of the integrated model. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.
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