Shaanxi, a province rich in cultural heritage and recognised as a historical epicentre of Chinese civilisation, faces challenges in establishing a compelling international tourism identity. This study explores how brand storytelling, grounded in narrative theory can be leveraged to build a strong global tourism image for Shaanxi. Grounded in narrative theory, this study examines how destination narratives influence international tourists’ emotional engagement and behavioural intentions, incorporating brand narrative, cultural context, communication channels, message framing, and audience characteristics. Emotional connection is proposed as a mediating variable that bridges narrative exposure and intention to visit, while cultural differences are examined as a moderating factor influencing narrative interpretation across diverse audiences. Data was collected using a quantitative survey and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. The findings highlight that cultural context, message framing, and audience characteristics significantly enhance emotional connection, which strongly predicts visit intention. Although brand narrative and communication channels show weaker direct effects, they exert notable influence through mediated emotional pathways. Mediation analysis confirms the indirect impact of these factors, while the hypothesised moderating role of cultural differences was not statistically significant. This research demonstrating that emotionally resonant and culturally embedded storytelling can effectively shape destination image and traveller motivation. The study also offers actionable insights for tourism stakeholders in Shaanxi and similar regions by crafting culturally relevant and emotionally engaging stories, destinations can foster stronger international appeal and influence tourist behaviour. It emphasises the strategic potential of narrative-based communication in destination branding and calls for continued exploration of culturally adaptive storytelling in global tourism marketing.