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| AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON VISITORS' INTENTION TO VISIT WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES |
| SHEN Su-yan, Guo Jian-ying |
| Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China |
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Abstract This research is conducted under the background of the rise of cultural heritage tourism. The authors provide a research model of predicting visitors' intention to visit cultural heritage sites with the theoretical framework of planned behavior. Past experience and culture tour involvement as two additional attributes are added into the original model of the theory of planned behavior. Thus, the research model supposes that attitude, subjective Norm, perceived control, past experience and culture tour involvement are five valid factors to predict visitors' intention to visit cultural heritage sites in the next one year. Furthermore, the authors assume that the following eight pairs of factors are related to each other. (1) attitude and subjective norm; (2) subjective norm and perceived control; (3)attitude and perceive control; (4) perceived control and past experience; (5) past experience and culture tour involvement; (6) perceived control and culture tour involvement; (7) attitude and past experience; (8) attitude and culture tour involvement. Surveys based on the proposed research model were conducted in Suzhou, which is a city with world cultural heritage sites. Survey data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire by face-to-face interviews in the Humble Administration's Garden, the Lion Forest Garden, the Couple's Retreat Garden, and Guanqian Street of Suzhou in June 2008. Structural equation modeling is employed to test the research model and hypotheses. The goodness-of-fit indices show that the model based on the theory of planned behavior can be accepted. The results in this case study indicate that three of the five factors in the model are predictors for visitors' intention to visit a world cultural heritage site within the next one year. These three factors include perceived control, past experience and culture tour involvement. Perceived control has the greatest effect on the intention to visit world cultural heritage sites. Another two constructs attitude and subjective norm have little significant direct impact on visitor's intention to visit world cultural heritage sites. However, attitude plays an indirect role in visitors' intention to visit world cultural heritage sites in respect to the relationships between attitude and perceived control, attitude and past experience, and attitude and cultural tour involvement.
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Received: 13 July 2010
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2011, Vol. 26 
