Mitigating Mortality Anxiety: Identifying Heritage Tourism’s Role in Terror Management

Although terror management theory has been widely studied, little research has empirically examined whether travel functions as a terror management mechanism. Thus, the present research investigated the influence of mortality anxiety on heritage tourism preference and heritage protection intention through two studies. Study 1 shows that as individuals’ general mortality anxiety increases, their tendency to search for meaning in life increases, which fosters their heritage travel preference and heritage protection intention. Study 2, using an experimental method, reveals a causal relationship where incidentally increasing mortality anxiety increases heritage travel preference and heritage protection intention. In addition, this causal relationship is prominent for people with higher legacy beliefs. These findings shed light on the critical roles of the search for meaning in life and legacy belief in the links between mortality anxiety and heritage-related behavior.