Incorporating multidimensional images into cultural heritage destination: does it help to explain and analyse better?
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2044-1266
Article publication date: 26 April 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to examine and explain cultural heritage destination by applying multiple dimension image model (cognitive–affective–conative aspects).
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 233 international heritage-based tourists were surveyed on-site at some of the most prominent historical attractions in Malacca, one of the first cities in Malaysia declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The covariance-based structural equation modelling was applied to examine the hypotheses.
Findings
The structural equation modelling validated that cognitive image aspects such as living culture, intangible and tangible are affected positively. The effects are statistically significant for conative and affective images. On the other hand, cognitive tangible image is an aspect that impacted affective image to a lesser degree than conative image. Whereas affective image attributes were found to have significant and positive influence on conative image.
Originality/value
This study enriches the limited empirical research study on heritage image conceptualisation by expanding into tri-component model. The destination image has garnered a great deal of attention, particularly due to its significant and impactful influence on the decision-making and the sustainable behaviour of tourists, and it has since become the subject of many studies in the tourism and hospitality literatures. But most research concerning heritage image for destinations has considered the construct uni-dimensionally.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude and appreciation to Winthrop Professor Geoff Soutar for his continuous and valuable advice (ANZMAC Conference) and support in this research project and publication.
Funding details: This work was supported by the Multimedia University's Research Grant under Grant MMU I/ 210063.
Note to Editor: This manuscript should be submitted by the beginning of 2021, but due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and Malaysian Government's official announcement on total lockdown (including university's daily operations), thus it had procrastinated our research procedures, fund processing, coordination, meetings and supervision.
Citation
Lam, J.M.S., Makhbul, Z.K.M., Aziz, N.A. and Ahmat, M.A.H. (2022), "Incorporating multidimensional images into cultural heritage destination: does it help to explain and analyse better?", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-11-2021-0192
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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