Exploring the Factors Influencing Heritage Tourism Development: A Model Development

Abstract

Exploring destinations that are of cultural importance is becoming popular among tourists of all age groups. The unique blend of culture and heritage associated with such sites make them particularly interesting destinations to visit. Despite being relatively new, the idea of World Heritage Sites as a brand is gaining popularity among tourists. UNESCO designates certain locations as World Heritage Sites, and as such, they have come to represent both the natural and cultural heritage of the entire world. As a result, they are currently employed to represent the brand of a certain nation or region. Additionally, they are utilized to promote tourism, generate revenue, and increase awareness among the public of the value of their conservation. This research presents a conceptual model through identification of various factors that influence the development of heritage and cultural tourism worldwide. It has been identified that the enhancement of brand value, destination reputation, tourist experience, marketing, and promotional activities stand as key factors contributing to the development of heritage tourism. The enhancement of these will ultimately pave the way for the development of heritage tourism.

Do intangible factors enhance sociocultural productivity and economy in world heritage sites?

“…Heritage sites are invaluable repositories of the evolution of human civilisation (Loulanski, 2006a,b;Arumugam et al, 2023). These sites are not mere relics frozen in time, but dynamic entities that reflect the constantly changing interaction between culture, history, architecture and society (Hede, 2008;Mugobi and Mlozi, 2021).…”

“…Heritage sites encapsulate moments that shaped societies and civilisations, allowing future generations to glimpse a distant era (Lowenthal, 2005;Zhu et al, 2022;Arumugam et al, 2023). By maintaining these physical links to the past, heritage sites help individuals to better understand origins, achievements and challenges (Rouhi, 2017;Cheng and Chen, 2022).…”

“…This cultural exchange enriches societies by broadening perspectives and promoting tolerance (Musitelli, 2002;Yang and Wall, 2022). The attractiveness of heritage sites has a significant impact on tourism, which in turn contributes to socio-economic development (Chong and Balasingam, 2019;Arumugam et al, 2023). The two hypotheses we can formulate are: H2: DHC positively affects E.…”

“…Historical-cultural dynamisation becomes the primary reason for the generation of emotions, as explained by the third hypothesis. Emotions are generated not only by the ability of heritage sites to connect with the past through their architectural wonders and narratives (Lowenthal, 2005;Zhu et al, 2022;Arumugam et al, 2023), but also because they help to build the identity of visitors who come to these places to better understand their history (Rouhi, 2017;Cheng and Chen, 2022) from the traditions and values passed on through the generations (Vecco, 2010).…”

Destination Reputation Management: The Divergent Role of Tourists’ Word of Mouth in Urban China

“…Destination reputation management is one of the keys to sustainable destination brand development. A destination with a good reputation can maximize its attractiveness to tourists and expand its economic benefits, which will be conducive to the healthy development of the destination brand [1]. Due to shared memories and information communication among tourists, managing the reputation of a destination is an essential operational and strategic activity [2,3].…”