Image, Attachment, Perceived Value and Tourist Behavior in Heritage Tourism: A Study of Wuyishan, China

Abstract

Purpose of the study: China is the second holder of world natural as well as cultural heritage sites. Wuyishan is a natural and cultural World Heritage Site among them. While many factors influencing tourist behaviour have been explored in the context of destination marketing in the past, few of them focused on domestic travel programs.
 Methodology: This study administered the survey to 457 valid local visitors who visited Wuyishan on the spot. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships among destination image (DI), destination attachment (DA), perceived value (PV), destination satisfaction (DS), and destination loyalty (DL).
 Main findings: Empirical findings highlighted two critical roles of heritage tourism, PV and DS. The former acts as a complete mediator in the relationship between DI and DS, whereas the latter does the same in the relationship between PV and DL.
 Originality/value: Managers of tourism and hospitality should offer and shape those unique self-characteristics and attributes first in order to create an impressive PV that will strongly link the DI of these tourists to their DS. By contrast, DA is not a determinant factor in heritage tourism.