341-468 Tourism 2013 04EN.indd

Heritage is an important part of the international tourism market. As with any resource, sustainable management practices are required to maintain the long-term value of heritage assets. It is claimed that sustainable heritage tourism provides quality experiences for the tourists while protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for local residents. Yet, irrespective of how tourism is introduced and developed in a community, residents' perceptions of heritage tourism benefi ts are the key to the success or failure of the local tourism industry. Th is paper deals with heritage tourism in the village of Pragpur in Himachal Pradesh, India which is popular for its ancient heritage and culture and is registered in the list of heritage sites in India. Th us, the purpose of this study was twofold: to investigate residents' perceived benefi ts of heritage; and to assess the residents' support for sustainable heritage tourism development. A questionnaire was designed for this research and various related literature were used to develop the items for questions. A factor analysis was performed to derive four exogenous constructs dealing with socio-cultural, environmental, economic benefi ts and heritage benefi ts. Signifi cant diff erences have been found on the basis of perceived benefi ts and support for heritage tourism development. Th e implications for tourism practitioners, academicians and local community are discussed.