Managing a World Heritage Site in Malawi: do residents’ sentiments matter?

Residents are an integral stakeholder in any tourism destination and understanding their sentiments on any tourism activity within their locality is very critical. Although local people are the most affected by tourism development at such places, there is a deficit of research on the local communities’ perceptions on the impacts of and changes to their communities due to World Heritage Site (WHS) operations. Thus, the study sought to assess residents’ sentiments towards cultural heritage tourism at Chongoni Rock Art Heritage sites. Data were collected from 35 respondents who were purposively selected from three villages surrounding the WHS. Data were thematically analysed and the main theme that emerged was a lack of community involvement in tourism activities at the sites which has destroyed heritage assets. The findings contribute to the extant literature on local communities’ participation and perceptions of tourism development at WHS. The study recommends residents’ participation as one way of empowering the local community and enhancing economic benefits from tourism.