Does World Heritage inscription promote regional tourism? Evidence from China

Using the panel data from 2002 to 2018 of 287 prefecture-level cities in China and the propensity score matching–difference-in-differences method, our study sought to reexamine the effect of World Heritage inscription on regional tourism. The results show that World Heritage sites improve regional tourism significantly, further confirmed by a series of robustness tests. However, the arrival and revenue effects of World Heritage inscription on inbound tourism are not significant. Moreover, World Heritage sites generate significant tourism economic benefits for the eastern and western regions in China but not for the central region. Last, a mechanism analysis shows that tourism public services increase the arrival and revenue effects significantly. The conclusions provide important insights for governments and tourism operators regarding the sustainable development of World Heritage sites and regional tourism.