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World Heritage sites (WHS) can play an important role in promoting visitation to emerging and remote destinations. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study aims to investigate factors that predict intentions to visit WHS.

Survey questionnaires were used to collect data from visitors (n = 519) to four Western North American WHS. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to identify three reflective models (attitude toward visiting World Heritage, perceived behavioural control and intention to visit WHS in the future), three formative models (attitude toward World Heritage designation, social influence (subjective norms) to visit World Heritage and World Heritage tourism brand equity) and a structural model.

World Heritage tourism brand equity and social influence were strong positive predictors of intentions to visit WHS in the future. Attitudes towards World Heritage designation, followed by World Heritage travel attitudes and perceived behavioural control, were progressively weaker, yet positive predictors. However, the latter two concepts’ impact was negligible.

This study addresses four deficiencies in tourism studies: TPB studies have failed to find consistent predictors of intentions to visit destinations; very few studies have attempted to verify the factors that predict visitation to WHS, despite the opportunities and costs that can arise from WHS-related tourism; few studies of tourists’ perceptions of World Heritage and related WHS travel intentions have been conducted in North America; and PLS-SEM was used to perform statistical methods not commonly used in tourism studies including formative models, importance-performance mapping and confirmatory tetrad analysis.

世界遗址（WHS）对于提高新兴和偏远地区的游览率起到重要作用。本论文以计划行为理论（TPB）为理论基础，研究游览WHS的动机因素。

本论文采用问卷采样形式，519名游览四个美国西北部WHS公园的游客为问卷样本。本论文采用偏最小二乘回归（PLS-SEM）分析数据，(a) 确立三个反应性测量模型（WHS游览态度、感知行为控制、未来WHS游览意向），(b) 确立三个形成性测量模型（WHS游览态度、WHS游览的社会影响力（主观规范）、以及WHS旅游品牌资产），以及(c) 验证一个结构模型。

世界遗产旅游品牌资产和社会影响力是未来游览WHS意向的有效动力。世界遗产目的地的态度，由世界遗产旅游态度和感知行为控制所主导，也有着对未来游览WHS意向的积极促进作用，但是作用相对较弱。然而，世界遗产旅游态度和感知行为控制并未发现对未来游览WHS意向有直接决定作用。

本论文弥补了旅游研究中的四大不足：(a) TPB研究未能找出旅游目的地游览意向的一致的决定因素; (b) 几乎没有文献试图验证WHS游览意向决定因素，尽管这将对WHS相关旅游业的机遇和成本控制有着重大意义; (c) 有关世界遗产和相关WHS旅游意向的研究还尚未在北美地区开枝散叶; (d) 本论文借用PLS-SEM方法来分析数据，包括验证形成性测量模型、重要性-绩效画图分析法、以及四分子分析法等，这在旅游文献中不常见。

品牌态度，世界遗产，旅游意向，TPB，品牌资产，品牌忠诚度