Identifying and Prioritizing the Factors involved in Social Contribution of the Host Communities in Preserving UNESCO's World Heritage Sites: A Case Study of Yazd City

The UNESCO registry of communities' cultural heritage as the World Heritage Sites prepares the ground for further development of tourism industry, requiring local communities' contribution to the success of preservation programs. Given that Yazd province includes a historic city with several gardens and aqueducts that have been registered in the UNESCO World Heritage list, it demands the identification of influential factors involved in achieving maximum social contribution and improving the process of destination's strategic management. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the influential factors involved in enhancing the social contribution of the local community in preserving the world heritage sites existing in Yazd province. The study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-correlational in terms of data collection. The study's statistical population comprised all tourism professionals and staff who were active in Yazd during winter 2019, out of which 155 individuals were selected as the sample size via stratified random sampling. After measuring the validity and reliability of the instruments, the collected data were analyzed via LISREL software and structural equation modeling. The results suggested that perception, interest, the locals' knowledge and their awareness of the contribution process, and the opportunities and awards offered by managers for contributing to preserving the world heritage sites had significant direct effects on all levels of contribution (forced, induced, & voluntary), with voluntary contribution affected the most in comparison with other levels.