Driving Forces of Heritage Tourism Destination Social Responsibility

This paper attempts to define the concept of heritage tourism destination social responsibility and identify the factors of heritage tourism destination social responsibility which consist of external institutional environment and internal resources based on the institutional theory and resource-based view theory. Multiple linear regression analysis is used to test the driving factors that heritage tourism destination social responsibility act in socially responsible ways. The results reveal that institutional environment significantly influences heritage tourism destination social responsibility,and regulative environment is the most significant predicator of heritage tourism destination social responsibility followed by normative one and finally the cognitive environment. The internal resources has positive influence on heritage tourism destination social responsibility among which heritage resources are the most important factors followed by organizational capacity and finally prior tourism economic performance. The institutional environment and internal resources determine jointly whether heritage tourism destinations act in socially responsible ways. Internal resources play more important role than external environment. The impact of internal resources and institutional environment on the types of social responsibility is different.