Based on provincial panel data from 2013 to 2023, this study uses the TOPSIS-entropy weight method to measure the development level of rural tourism and the level of rural revitalization, and constructs a panel twoway fixed effects model, a mediation model, and a moderation model to empirically test the impact of rural tourism on rural revitalization. The results show that rural tourism can significantly promote rural revitalization, and this conclusion remains valid even after endogeneity tests and a series of robustness checks. The impact of rural tourism on rural revitalization exhibits heterogeneity across regions and educational levels. Rural tourism can promote rural revitalization through the non-agricultural employment effect, rural entrepreneurship effect, and industrial structure optimization effect. The level of marketization and consumption level can positively moderate the impact of rural tourism on rural revitalization. To this end, policy implications are proposed, including promoting the high-quality development of rural tourism, expanding the scale of non-agricultural employment in rural tourism, advancing innovation and entrepreneurship activities in rural tourism, and optimizing the rural industrial structure.