City vs. Town residents’ place attachment, perceptions and support for tourism development in a linear World Cultural Heritage Site

This study examines local residents’ place attachment (PA) to the city or town they live and investigates how this attachment influences their perceptions and support for tourism development (ST), as well as comparing the differences of these relationships among the city and town residents in a linear World Heritage Site (WHS) setting. Structural equation model was used to analyze samples of 226 city residents and 235 town residents along the Grand Canal Yangzhou Section, China. The findings suggested that residents’ PA is positively correlated their ST. Results also suggested that the PA-ST effect is partially mediated by residents’ positive perceptions in the city area while fully mediated by residents’ positive and negative perceptions in the town areas. This study could help local governments make heritage development and management policies accordingly for cities and towns along the Grand Canal area.