Behavioral Intention in Domestic Heritage Tourism—An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

Heritage tourist attractions are important in the diversification of tourism product offers for any competitive tourist destination. The current status of domestic heritage tourism in Kenya remains under-researched leaving many critical areas of interest requiring more research attention and redress. These needs also have to be examined in the Kenyan domestic heritage tourism context with a view to creating and satisfying higher demand for tourists. This research expands the widespread theory of planned behavior (TPB) by adding motivation and perceived safety and security as predictors of visit intention. In total, 802 respondents filled out the structured questionnaire, of which 693 questionnaires (86%) were found to be valid. The findings of this study validated the TPB with respect to heritage visitation in a domestic tourism context. It was further established that the expanded TPB model and its variables were applicable and more efficacious in directly predicting visit intention to historical heritage attractions. These results reveal the key determinants of the willingness of domestic tourists to visit historical heritage sites. Destination marketers and managers should endeavor to enhance the five psychographic aspects considered in the current study, in order to cultivate higher intentions towards visiting historical heritage sites among domestic tourists.