Factors influencing residents’ perceptions toward heritage tourism: A gender perspective

This study investigates the effects of influencing factors (community attachment, environmental and cultural attitudes, economic gain, and involvement) on residents’ perceptions of heritage tourism, and whether these effects differ between male and female residents. Data were collected from residents of the historic Iranian city of Tabriz and analysed using partial least squares – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and Multi-Group Analysis (MGA). Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) was also performed to gain greater insight into how these antecedent factors influence residents’ perceptions toward tourism development across gender. The findings show significant differences between male and female residents for the effect of environmental attitudes on residents’ perceptions toward tourism development. However, the IPA results demonstrate that the most important antecedent of female residents’ perceptions is economic gain. Conversely, environmental attitude serves as the most important antecedent of male residents’ perceptions toward tourism development. Therefore, this study presents a significant theoretical contribution, serving as one of the first to compare the effects of influencing factors on residents’ perceptions toward tourism development between male and female residents. In doing so, it offers practical suggestions for achieving sustainable tourism in Iran.