Antecedents of culturally significant tourist behavior

The numbers of tourists visiting indigenous heritage sites is increasing. This has resulted in conflicts of use which need to be managed in order to achieve cultural compatibility and the maintenance of respect for the host culture. This study investigated the culturally inappropriate tourist behavior of climbing Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Central Australia. The study utilized a sample of visitors to the World Heritage Area, and applied the Theory of Reasoned Action as a methodological framework to explore visitors' beliefs associated with the target behavior. Results indicate that the strength of these beliefs vary according to gender and climbing behavior. The findings are applied to inform persuasive efforts aimed at discouraging visitors from climbing Uluru. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.