The Puzzle of Tourism Demand at Destinations Hosting UNESCO World Heritage Sites: An Analysis of Tourism Flows for Italy

The study develops a comprehensive picture of tourism demand trends at UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHSs) with the aim of providing evidence of any growth in demand for specific destinations after the listing of their sites. In contrast to previous literature, this article focuses on the smallest statistical unit (the municipality) to examine WHS impact on the destination. Analyzing 16 Italian WHSs, we show the most relevant trends in hospitality demand, comparing tourism flows at destinations before and after listing. Data show that, on average, growth rates of tourism demand in the 5 years after WHS listing are not higher than growth rates in the 5 years before the listing, but a number of different patterns emerge. The policy and managerial implications of such findings are straightforward: at least for a mature destination like Italy, there is no statistical evidence that WHS listing is associated with accelerating market growth rates.