How Outstanding Universal Value, Service Quality and Place Attachment Influences Tourist Intention Towards World Heritage Conservation: A Case Study of Mount Sanqingshan National Park, China

Abstract

Since tourists are one of the important stakeholders in World Heritage Sites (WHSs), what factors influence them and how does the impact mechanism work on heritage conversation? In particular, World Natural Heritage Sites (WNHSs) are generally facing threats to their ecological and heritage protection by the influx of tourists. To this end, this study took the perspective of attractions with Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and tourist perceptions of service quality, and used place attachment as a mediator variable. Based on the 565 questionnaires responses by Mount Sanqingshan National Park (MSNP) tourists, the structural equation modelling technical method was adapted to explore the influence and mechanisms of tourist heritage protection. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) the perception of an OUV attraction had a positive effect on place attachment and intention to protect heritage; however, place attachment did not have a mediating effect; (2) service quality had a positive effect on place attachment and intention to protect heritage, yet place attachment did not have a mediating effect; (3) service quality was more effective than the OUV attraction on intention to protect heritage, and affiliate attraction had a ‘core’ trend; and (4) tourists’ place attachment was not accepted as a positive assumption of their intention to protect heritage. Finally, we proposed measures and implications for enhancing the conservation and management of WNHSs, with a focus on building both the tourism industry and sustainable development of WHSs.

Brand Personality Traits of World Heritage Sites: Text Mining Approach

“…The study thus concurs with Wang et al [33], Kim, Oh, Lee and Lee [81], and Nian et al [82] in that the visitors' perception of authenticity and integrity affords protection and adds economic value to WHS. This notion is supported by the findings of Poria et al [35] and Wuepper [31], who state that visitors are willing to pay higher entrance fees when they can perceive a WHS's intangible attributes.…”

Conservation Value of World Natural Heritage Sites’ Outstanding Universal Value via Multiple Techniques—Bogda, Xinjiang Tianshan

“…Furthermore, refining OUV requirements has important scientific and practical significance in the formulation of relevant protection and management policies [4].To define OUV, scholars have compared and analyzed the multiple values of landscapes, ecology, science, technology, economic benefits and aesthetics of heritage sites via global comparative analyses [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Additionally, they have studied the practical functions, interests and compositional characteristics of a sites' OUV and proposed relevant protection measures for targeted protection [8,12,13]. Among these components, the aesthetic component of OUV (criterion vii) for a WNHS is incorporates aspects of its geological and bioecological values [14,15], the integrity of the landscape (scale, shape) [16,17], characteristics of the landscape group (richness, combination, difference) [18] and the landscape's attributes (uniqueness, rarity, typicality, originality) [19,20].…”

“…Biodiversity incorporates aspects such as species diversity, species composition, flora, vegetation type, fauna, vertical natural zone, International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) habitat type, habitat integrity, species richness, endangered species and endemic species [21][22][23][24][25].IUCN natural heritage experts comprehensively evaluate potential heritage areas to determine whether they satisfy the WNHS criteria in terms of the integrity, originality and threats to the OUV [6,12]. Integrity requires that OUV elements and areas with heritage values have uncompromising and regional holistic characteristics [13,26]. Threats to the OUV reflects the situation in which the OUV is subject to human and natural impact or influence, such as building construction and development, transportation infrastructure, utilities or service infrastructure, biological resource use or modification and sudden ecological or geological events [27][28][29][30].…”

“…IUCN natural heritage experts comprehensively evaluate potential heritage areas to determine whether they satisfy the WNHS criteria in terms of the integrity, originality and threats to the OUV [6,12]. Integrity requires that OUV elements and areas with heritage values have uncompromising and regional holistic characteristics [13,26]. Threats to the OUV reflects the situation in which the OUV is subject to human and natural impact or influence, such as building construction and development, transportation infrastructure, utilities or service infrastructure, biological resource use or modification and sudden ecological or geological events [27][28][29][30].…”

Public Administration and Values Oriented to Sustainability: A Systematic Approach to the Literature

“…In the area of education, worthy of mention are studies focusing on educational policies [70,132], higher education [133,134], leadership [135], and knowledge transfer [136,137]. Research on the tourism sector and the environmental dimension has increased in the last decade and portrays authors' concern about environmentally responsible behavior [138,139], business behavior [140,141], and more. Based on the areas of public administration that were most mentioned in this study (71.05% of all articles), their relation to the main types of values was analyzed ( Figure 17).…”