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The burgeoning field of sustainable tourism in historically significant urban districts has derived increasing attention in tandem with broader urban economic development. The perceived image of a tourist destination significantly affects tourist consumption behaviors and destination choices, while negative evaluations provide destination managers with insights for targeted improvements to tourist amenities, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of these historically significant districts. This study leveraged Python 3.12.3 software to collect online textual data from popular tourism websites, specifically Ctrip 8.71.4 and Mafengwo 11.1.7. Then, ROST CM6.0 software facilitated high-frequency word analysis, network semantic analysis, and sentiment analysis to outline the perceived image and characteristics of the Macau Historic District, a UNESCO World Heritage site, from the perspective of tourists. The findings are as follows: (1) The image of the Historic Centre of Macao as a tourist destination comprises four primary dimensions: cultural (16.02%), landscape (30.85%), emotional (16.97%), and local (36.16%). (2) Tourists perceive the Historic Centre of Macao as a blend of dynamism and tranquility, tradition, and modernity. (3) Emotional evaluations of the Historic Centre of Macao as a tourist destination are primarily positive (85.45%), whereas negative sentiments constitute 5.76%, with recurring themes pertaining to overcrowding, high prices, a lack of interactive experiences at attractions, excessive commercialization, and insufficient public rest facilities. These findings offer valuable directives for the future planning and development of tourism in Macau, a city recognized for its World Heritage status. (4) In summary, the thematic image of the Historic Centre of Macao can be considered authentic, romantic, and commercialized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City image reflects urban culture and communication and influences tourists' travel behavior. However, based on field investigations, it was found that Macau's city space currently faces issues such as an imbalance in practical use efficiency, an overload of historical urban areas, and a mismatch between tourist numbers and spatial capacity. To further understand tourists' travel experiences and influencing factors in Macau, this study uses user-generated content (UGC) textual data and takes the Macau Special Administrative Region in China as a case study. The ROST CM6.0 software and grounded theory analysis method are utilized to analyze the perceptual content and underlying influencing mechanisms of city image from the perspective of tourists. The research results show that: 1. Tourists' perception of Macau's city image mainly stays at the intuitive and superficial level, represented by individual landscapes such as the "Ruins of St. Paul's", "Grand Lisboa", and "Galaxy". 2. Tourists' perception of Macau's city image can be summarized into four main dimensions: architectural and landscape image, cultural and historical image, economic and commercial image, and spatial governance and public service image. 3. Negative aspects of tourists' perception of Macau's city image include infrastructure perception, tourism service perception, urban experience perception, and urban safety perception, with spatial scale perception being the most influential factor. Finally, this study proposes effective measures to optimize urban spatial resource allocation, improve urban infrastructure, enhance the spatial environment of the old city, strengthen the promotion of historical culture, improve urban transportation convenience, and enhance urban safety to provide references for enriching the theory of city image perception research and the development of urban tourism in Macau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]