Tourist Attitudes toward Declaring a World Natural Heritage Program in the Kanas Component, Xinjiang, China

Abstract

This paper collected data from five hundred questionnaires, and used structural equation models to survey tourists’ perception, attitude and driving force toward declaring a world natural heritage program. The results showed tourist isn’t necessary participant for the program, but had influence on the program. The major influence factors of sustaining attitude were tourists’ cognition to ‘Kanas scenic spot’, ‘penalty for tourists’ environment damage’ and ‘quality of tourism for tourists’. Tourist had pay attention to ‘the purpose and significance’ of the program. The ‘environmental protection cognition’ and ‘forecasting tourism activity’ had some relations with each other, and the latter had notable relevance with epigenetic variables of ‘purpose’ and ‘significance’. This study of tourist attitudes adds to the preparatory work of the declaring natural heritage program in Kanas, it will be useful for further research of heritage tourism.