Tourist Crowding versus Service Quality: Impacting Mechanism of Tourist Satisfaction in World Natural Heritage Sites from the Mountain Sanqingshan National Park, China

Tourist satisfaction at World Heritage Sites (WHS) is significantly influenced by service quality, which positively impacts both the perceived attractiveness of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and overall satisfaction. Contrarily, tourist crowding—particularly functional, personal, and social crowding—negatively affects satisfaction without substantially altering OUV attractiveness. This study, conducted at Mount Sanqingshan National Park in China using structural equation modeling on 535 tourist samples, introduces the SCA-S framework (service, crowding, attractiveness, and satisfaction) to analyze these dynamics. Findings underscore the critical role of service quality in enhancing tourism experiences while mitigating the adverse effects of crowding, offering actionable insights for heritage conservation and visitor management.

Nian, S., Chen, M., Yan, J., Du, Y., & Su, X. (2024). Tourist Crowding versus Service Quality: Impacting Mechanism of Tourist Satisfaction in World Natural Heritage Sites from the Mountain Sanqingshan National Park, China. Sustainability, 16(18), 8268. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16188268