A brand for all the nations: The development of the World Heritage Brand in emerging markets

This paper aims to explain the emergence of the World Heritage Site (WHS) designation as a de facto brand. Branding provides a framework for managing the image of a place and is an important component of destination marketing. The WHS “brand” is of importance to developing nations because it is available without cost. The study examines the evolution of the WHS program with a focus on emerging markets. It seeks to identify economic, political and other factor which dispose emerging countries to seek WHS designations.

This study is based on a multivariate analysis of data on 48 emerging countries in which their predisposition to seek WHS designations is predicted by indicators measuring: on‐going involvement with tourism, number of existing WHS sites, level of democratization, and the Human Development Index. The dataset is used to test four hypotheses.

The analysis identified two significant statistical relationships: first, the number of existing WHS is, as hypothesized, positively related to applications for additional sites and second, the countries standing on the Democracy Index is significantly related to applications, but negatively, not positively, as had been hypothesized.

The study applies multivariate analysis to a field dominated by case study methodologies and suggests the potential complementarities between the two approaches. It documents as well the development of the WHS program as a major factor and contributor to heritage tourism and highlights the growing prominence and value of the WHS brand.