http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0309-4511
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ABSTRACT
The UNESCO World Heritage (WH) List is often regarded as a successful tourism brand that motivates site nominations. However, there is relatively little research dealing specifically with WH brand attraction effects, and what does exist shows conflicting results. There is a significant research gap in terms of awareness of the WH brand and its potential impact on visitation, which this study seeks to fill through a comparative analysis of three diverse case studies: Independence Hall, USA; Studenica Monastery, Serbia; and the Archaeological Site of Volubilis, Morocco. Survey data (n = 771) from these three sites were collected and analyzed resulting in three distinct clusters of visitors. One of the clusters does exhibit higher levels of awareness of the WH brand, but members of this group were not motivated by this knowledge when planning their site visit. It is concluded that the WH brand may function as a placebo, and that its importance may be tied more to political interests than economic advancement. Thus, dependency on the WH List for tourism development may potentially be detrimental for locations in the long term. The WH brand's placebo effect could result in long-term problems for both the site and those whose livelihoods depend on tourism.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Bailey Ashton Adie
Bailey Ashton Adie is a postdoctoral research fellow at Southampton Solent University. She has a PhD degree in Management and Development of Cultural Heritage from IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca. Her research focuses on World Heritage tourism in an international comparative context, sustainable heritage tourism for community development, and tourism branding.
C. Michael Hall
C. Michael Hall is a professor in the Department of Management, Marketing & Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and docent in Geography, University of Oulu, Finland. He also holds positions at Linneaus University, Sweden; University of Mauritius; and University of Johannesberg, South Africa. Current research focuses on the World Heritage experience in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Mauritius.
Girish Prayag
Dr Girish Prayag is a lecturer in Marketing at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He received his degree in Marketing from University of Cape Town (South Africa) and his PhD degree in tourism management from the University of Waikato (New Zealand). His research interests are related to emotional experiences of tourists, tourism market segmentation and destination marketing.