Exploring the effects of a ‘new’ listing of a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the case of Singapore Botanic Gardens

ABSTRACT

This study examines how the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site (WHS) listing impacts on push-pull factors, satisfaction and revisit intention. Data were collected on visitors to the Singapore Botanic Gardens before and after the WHS listing was awarded. The pre-listing and post-listing samples were compared and results revealed significant differences between the samples. Differences were observed for the importance of various push and pull factors as well as satisfaction and revisit intention. This study provides researchers and practitioners with greater insight into the effects of the WHS listing and recommends potential strategies for future marketing communications.

KEYWORDS:

• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• push-pull framework
• satisfaction
• revisit intention

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sean Lee is a Lecturer in Marketing at Curtin University, Australia. His research interest focuses on authenticity, tourism marketing and luxury branding. His research has been published in publications such as the Journal of Vacation Marketing, Tourism Analysis and the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing.

Ian Phau is a Professor in Marketing at Curtin University, Australia. His research interest focuses on country image, country and consumer animosity, brand personality and authenticity and luxury branding. His publications appear in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Brand Management and Psychology and Marketing, amongst others. He is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Asia Pacific Marketing and is the current Editor-in-Chief for the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics (Emerald). Professor Phau also founded the Luxury Branding Research Cluster within the School of Marketing at Curtin University.

Vanessa Quintal is an Associate Professor in Marketing at Curtin University, Australia. Her research interests include cross-cultural consumer behaviour in the areas of tourism, retail, banking and education. Her work has been published in Tourism Management, International Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism Analysis, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Marketing and Intelligence Planning and the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.

ORCID

Sean Lee http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7903-637X

Ian Phau http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0759-6092

Vanessa Quintal http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6179-317X