This paper seeks to estimate the effects of any World Heritage Site (WHS) versus an additional WHS on tourism demand. We first develop a theoretical model where the individual tourist chooses a tour and the amount of time visiting cultural sites and relaxing to maximize her utility. She derives utility directly from consumption of a non-tourist good and from tour characteristics. The model provides testable implications of the presence and number of WHS on tourism. We next estimate a structural gravity equation for 2000-2021 for close to 200 countries. We find that the presence of a WHS site in the destination nation has a positive and significant impact on international tourism. In contrast, an additional WHS is positive but only marginally significant.
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