ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a general presentation of tourism marketing, with an emphasis on branding. This sets the stage for a critical discussion of the World Heritage brand, which is often promoted as a strong tourist attractor regardless of a lack of consensus on this assertion in the literature. While the examination of the World Heritage brand in this chapter presents both positive and negative views of the brand’s impact on visitation, the resulting discussion takes the position that it functions as a placebo. Thus there is a recommendation to tread cautiously when relying on brand-driven tourism increases, particularly when motivated by an expectation of economic growth. However, while the brand may not specifically attract visitors, intensive marketing campaigns post-listings may increase visitation, indicating that marketing the site itself to a broader audience may induce sufficient tourist activity to the site, so long as the marketing is honest and avoids hyperbole.
