Residents’ sense of place, involvement, attitude, and support for tourism: a case study of Daming Palace, a Cultural World Heritage Site

ABSTRACT This paper intended to examine how local residents’ senses of place of tourism site and involvement in tourism could influence their attitude toward tourism, which eventually affected their support for tourism development. A questionnaire survey was conducted at eight neighborhoods surrounding Daming Palace Heritage Park, a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relations among these variables. Results indicated that positive attitude of residents toward tourism positively affected their support for tourism development but negative attitude negatively affected their support. Whilst sense of place influenced both positive and negative attitudes, involvement influenced only the positive attitude. The findings may provide reference for the sustainable development of cultural tourism and heritage conservation of Cultural World Heritage Sites.