This study aims to examine the effects of visit motivations for World Heritage Sites on tourists’ positive affect and satisfaction among visitors with prior experience of visiting World Heritage Sites. A survey was conducted with 180 visitors to World Heritage Sites, and the data were analyzed using SPSS. The main findings are as follows. First, four dimensions of visit motivation were identified: self-development, escape from daily life, social recognition, and knowledge seeking. Second, among these visit motivations, escape from daily life, social recognition, and knowledge seeking were found to have significant effects on positive affect, which is consistent with previous studies suggesting that visit motivations significantly influence tourists’ emotional responses. Third, escape from daily life, social recognition, and knowledge seeking also had significant effects on satisfaction, indicating that the fulfillment of visit motivations contributes to tourists’ cognitive evaluations of their experiences. Finally, positive affect was found to have a significant positive effect on satisfaction. Through these results, meaningful implications were derived.
Jung-won Lee (Wed,) studied this question.